Bryant v Slaven; Slaven v Bryant

The parties involved in this dispute are Emma Bryant and Todd Bryant, who are the applicants, and Darrell Slaven, who is the respondent. The nature of the dispute is centred around the construction of a residential shed and the defects that arose from the project. The case was heard by the Civil and Administrative Tribunal, which has jurisdiction over home building disputes in New South Wales. The Bryants alleged that Slaven, who constructed the shed, breached an oral contract with them and failed to deliver a quality product. They sought compensation under quantum meruit for the work completed and the defects that needed to be rectified.

The central legal issues that the court had to determine were whether an enforceable oral contract existed between the Bryants and Slaven, and if so, whether Slaven breached it by failing to construct the shed to the agreed standard. The Bryants argued that they had an oral agreement with Slaven for the construction of a shed and that he failed to deliver a quality product. They sought damages for the work completed and the defects that needed to be fixed. Slaven, on the other hand, argued that there was no enforceable contract and that the Bryants were overstating the defects and demanding more than the contract amount.

The court found that an enforceable oral contract did exist between the Bryants and Slaven. It held that Slaven breached the contract by failing to construct the shed to the agreed standard, resulting in defects that needed to be rectified. The court ordered Slaven to pay the Bryants the sum of $42,913.47 for the work completed and the defects that needed to be fixed. The Bryants were also ordered to dismiss their application and Slaven was ordered to pay his own costs if the Bryants applied for a different cost order. Slaven could respond to such an application by providing his submissions and any evidence in response to the Bryants' cost application.