Litigation

The owners corporation of a luxury apartment block in Sydney’s North Shore have been awarded $7.8 million in a summary judgment ruling after developer Lotus Fund failed to put on more than bare denials.

A Rawson Group unit has successfully argued that it was entitled to rescind an option deed to buy land in the Southern Highlands of NSW after the soil was classified as a “problem” that posed real risks of increased building costs.

A court has dismissed a challenge by ISPT to a $20 million tax assessment by the NSW State Revenue's Office over two acquisitions that increased its stake in Fort Street Real Estate Capital Fund.

The operator of a 4,000-space car park at the Grand Central shopping centre in Toowoomba, which is part of a $500 million redevelopment, has lost its fight with the tax office over fringe tax related to employee parking. 

The High Court has been asked to overturn a ruling from the Victorian Court of Appeal that found domestic building insurance policies do not respond to when a defect arises, but rather to when loss or damage is suffered.

The NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption has found a former high-ranking official in the NSW Department of Education engaged in corrupt conduct by awarding contracts to friends, calling it a “clear case of cronyism”.

The developer of a 61-apartment building in the Sydney suburb of Mascot has won a challenge to Bayside Council's requirement that it rectify alleged damage to neighbouring land before an occupation certificate is granted.

A Western Sydney council has lost its bid to keep expert evidence in an arbitration with a builder under wraps in its $7 million case alleging a Sydney architect is liable for defects in a tennis court complex. 

A Phoenix Property Investors special purpose vehicle has won a $57.75 million judgment against developer Rockdale Central Finco in a dispute over financing related to the construction of 50 residential apartments in a southern Sydney suburb.

Despite its loss in a class action against Queensland power companies, which has put it on the hook for $32 million in costs, funder LCM has avoided calls for cash security in a representative proceeding over toll road charges.