Litigation

A judge has set aside a SOPA determination after finding a verbal conversation between a developer and a crane supplier did not constitute a construction contract.

HWL Ebsworth and former partner Dennis Bluth have been hit with a new lawsuit in the Victorian Supreme Court after allegedly providing negligent advice regarding a development in south-west Sydney.

A Heran Group unit has lost its challenge to orders that $4.8 million be paid to a Queensland builder from an escrow account held by HWL Ebsworth amid an appeal in its dispute over a $128 million contract for beachfront apartments. 

A judge has found there is a genuine dispute over an agreement for the recommissioning of Australian Pacific Coal's Dartbrook coal mine in the Hunter Valley and refused to toss a suit alleging its ex-CEO breached her duty by entering into the agreement. 

Office provider Servcorp may amend a lawsuit against former MLC Centre owner GPT alleging it failed to disclose plans for major redevelopment works on the Sydney CBD high-rise before they signed a lease in 2014.

A judge wants answers on why builder Geocon has filed a $4 million construction dispute over two Canberra developments in the Federal Court, where a separate fight with its joint venture partners is playing out. 

The events described by an ex-Master Builders Association board member read like a best-seller, involving as they do boardroom drama, a secret investigation and an alleged whistleblower. But as thrilling as they sound, they don't support orders for discovery against the construction lobby group, a judge has said.

A real estate agency in Victoria has lost a suit seeking the payment of its advertising costs from a former client, with a judge finding that writing 'TBA' in the contract defeated the consumer protection purpose of rules for real estate agents.

Alinta Energy has won an urgent injunction against former contractors working on the Wagerup power station in Western Australia, saying delays on the project have caused daily losses of $137,000 in revenue since mid-July. 

Refusing to sit out a criminal trial against Boral Cement, a judge has said his sentencing of an engineering firm that pleaded guilty in the SafeWork NSW case did not disqualify him.