Litigation

A judge has questioned whether he should decide a tax dispute that will impact how much damages a former HWL Ebsworth client will get in a nine year-old negligence case over a property development.

Contesting $17.8 million in fees billed by law firm Hall & Wilcox, the liquidators of collapsed engineering firm Hastie Group have told a court there was no written costs agreement between the parties. 

Developer Infinity can't stay a case by the liquidators of collapsed developer Crown Group seeking to sell the land for their failed joint venture for a luxury residential tower in Melbourne’s Southbank, with a judge finding a dispute resolution clause in their agreement was too vague to be enforceable. 

A judge has raised concerns that if he grants orders sought by the administrators of collapsed builder Sharvain Facades to delay a creditors meeting, it will prioritise the interests of its creditors over those of Roberts Co.

An appeals court has ruled against developer Universal, which resisted a payment claim under the SOP Act, saying it couldn't raise a defence pointing to the contract after failing to serve a payment schedule.

A judge has found that the former liquidator of developer North Shore did not rely on an appraisal of a residential block in settling a dispute over the alleged uncommercial sale of four units in a Lane Cove development, despite finding it was likely not a genuine document. 

The purported purchaser of two off-the-plan penthouses in a Newstead high-rise has won his suit against the developer, who sold the apartments to someone else for more than double the contract price.

An appeals court has tossed a challenge by construction firm Builtcom to an adjudication that slashed a $30 million payment claim against developer VSD Investments by $21 million, saying mere legal error was not enough.

The High Court has rebuffed the CFMEU’s constitutional challenge to legislation used to facilitate its takeover by the federal government, rejecting an argument that the laws amounted to an unjust acquisition of the union's property. 

CityLink operator CML, which was found to have overcharged Eastlink operator ConnectEast, has argued that it also overpaid and is entitled to damages, but ConnectEast has told a judge the claim is time-barred and doesn't fall within a cross-claim exception.