Amirbeaggi v Matrix Group Co Pty Limited - [2020] NSWSC 827

Supreme Court

New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Amirbeaggi and Anor v Matrix Group Co Pty Limited [2020] NSWSC 827
Hearing dates: 10 June 2020
Date of orders: 30 June 2020
Decision date: 30 June 2020
Jurisdiction: Common Law
Before: Johnson J
Decision:
1. The Appellants are refused leave to appeal from the interlocutory judgment and orders of the Local Court of 25 November 2019.
2. The Summons filed on 18 December 2019 is dismissed.
3. The Appellants are to pay the Respondent’s costs of the Summons.
4. If a special costs order is sought by the Respondent, written submissions in support of the application are to be provided by email to Johnson J’s Associate and to the Appellants on or before 7 July 2020 and the Court will give directions for written submissions in reply with a view to determining the application on the papers and without the need for a further hearing.

Catchwords:
APPEAL – Magistrate refused application for stay of execution of Local Court civil judgment – judgment obtained by respondent following registration of adjudication certificate under s.25 Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 1999 –
consideration of ss. 39 and 40 Local Court Act 2007 – whether judgment appealed against was an interlocutory judgment requiring leave – Local Court judgment held to be interlocutory – leave to appeal required – whether leave to appeal should be granted – appellants commenced separate proceedings in District Court against respondent seeking damages including recovery of money covered by Local Court judgment – District Court proceedings still on foot – claim of error in construction and application of ss.92 and 94 Home Building Act 1989 - issue sought to be argued on appeal not raised squarely in Local Court – appellants able to litigate issue in District Court proceedings – leave to appeal refused with costs

Legislation Cited:
Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 1999
Civil Procedure Act 2005
Home Building Act 1989
Local Court Act 2007

Cases Cited:
Casa Maria Pty Limited v Trend Properties Pty Limited [1998] NSWCA 53
Ciszek v Enterprise Financial Solutions Pty Limited [2010] NSWSC 1265
Festa Holdings Pty Limited (In Liq) v Adderton (2005) NSW ConvR 56-117; [2004] NSWCA 228
Hall v Nominal Defendant (1966) 117 CLR 423; [1966] HCA 36
Laycock v Putty Community Association Incorporated [2006] NSWSC 900
Port of Melbourne Authority v Anshun Pty Limited (1980) 147 CLR 35; [1980] HCA 41
Sanofi v Parke Davis Pty Ltd (No. 1) (1982) 149 CLR 147; [1982] HCA 9
Sayed v Deng [2012] NSWSC 851
Schwartz Family Co Pty Ltd v Capitol Carpets Pty Ltd [2017] NSWCA 223
Souaid v Nahas [2019] NSWSC 1132
TFM Epping Land Pty Ltd v Decon Australia Pty Ltd [2020] NSWCA 118

Texts Cited:
---

Category: Principal judgment
Parties: Farshad Amirbeaggi and Brooke Maniscalco (Appellants)
Matrix Group Co Pty Limited (Respondent)
Representation:
Counsel:
Mr AF Fernon (Appellants)
Mr F Corsaro SC (Respondent)
Solicitors:
Yates Beaggi Lawyers (Appellants)
Advanta Legal Pty Limited…

Grounds of appeal

[14] The appellant contends that the primary judge erred in finding that the respondent had discharged the onus of establishing the matters required under the relevant provision.

[15] It was submitted that his Honour failed to give adequate weight to the evidence of the second witness, and that the findings of fact were not reasonably open on the material before the Court.

[16] The respondent, for its part, submits that no error is disclosed, and that the conclusions reached were well within the range of outcomes available to the primary judge.

Consideration

[17] It is convenient to deal first with the question of construction, as the resolution of that issue informs the remaining grounds advanced by the appellant.

[18] For the reasons that follow, we are of the view that the appeal should be allowed in part and the matter remitted for further determination.

Keep reading for free

Create a free CaseChat account to read Amirbeaggi v Matrix Group Co Pty Limited and more:

Read every judgment in full
Ask AI and get answers linked to paragraphs
See how each paragraph was cited in later cases
Download judgments as PDF or Word

Continue with Google

One click creates your free account or signs you in.

By continuing you agree to the Terms and Privacy Policy.

Details

Case: [2020] NSWSC 827
Decision Date: 30 June 2020

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The appeal concerns an application by Amirbeaggi, the appellant, to stay the execution of a civil judgment obtained by Matrix Group Co Pty Limited, the respondent, in the Local Court. The judgment was registered following the respondent’s registration of an adjudication certificate under section 25 of the Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 1999. The appellant sought to appeal the magistrate's decision to refuse their application for a stay of execution of the judgment. The core legal issues before the court were whether the judgment appealed against constituted an interlocutory judgment requiring leave to appeal, and if leave to appeal should be granted. The court found that the Local Court judgment was indeed interlocutory, and therefore required leave to appeal. The appellants had also initiated separate proceedings in the District Court against the respondent, seeking damages including the recovery of the money covered by the Local Court judgment. These District Court proceedings were still ongoing. The appellants claimed that there was an error in the Local Court’s construction and application of sections 92 and 94 of the Home Building Act 1989. However, the court held that the issue was not raised squarely in the Local Court and could be litigated in the District Court proceedings instead. Consequently, the court refused the leave to appeal and ordered the appellants to pay the respondent's costs.

Orders