Colman v The Owners - Strata Plan 61131

Court of Appeal

Supreme Court

New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation:

Colman v The Owners – Strata Plan 61131 [2025] NSWCA 203

Hearing dates:

26 August 2025

Date of orders:

4 September 2025

Decision date:

04 September 2025

Before:

Stern JA; Price AJA

Decision:

(1)   The summons filed by Mr Colman on 22 May 2025 seeking leave to appeal from the orders of Kirk J on 20 February 2025 is dismissed.

(2)   The applicant is to pay the respondent’s costs.

Catchwords:

CIVIL PROCEDURE — Court of Appeal — application for leave to appeal — whether primary judge constructively failed to exercise jurisdiction in determining whether the respondent had breached its obligations under s 106 of the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 (NSW) — where none of the applicant’s contentions of error identified any arguable constructive failure to exercise jurisdiction by primary judge — where applicant therefore failed to identify issue of principle, question of public importance or reasonably clear injustice going beyond something merely arguable — where leave to appeal refused with costs

Legislation Cited:

Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2013 (NSW), ss 80, 83(1)

Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 (NSW), ss 9, 106, 232

Cases Cited:

Colman v The Owners – Strata Plan 61131 [2023] NSWCATAP 308

Colman v The Owners – Strata Plan 61131 [2025] NSWSC 63

CZA19 v Federal Circuit Court of Australia (2021) 285 FCR 447; [2021] FCAFC 57

Day v SAS Trustee Corporation [2021] NSWCA 71

Dranichnikov v Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs [2003] HCA 26; 77 ALJR 1088

Kassam v Hazzard; Henry v Hazzard (2021) 106 NSWLR 520; [2021] NSWCA 299

Ming v Director of Public Prosecutions (NSW) (2022) 109 NSWLR 604; [2022] NSWCA 209

Category:

Principal judgment

Parties:

Gary Colman (Applicant)
The Owners – Strata Plan 61131 (Respondent)

Representation:

Counsel:
G Colman (in person)
DF Elliott (Respondent)

Solicitors:
Grace Lawyers Pty Ltd (Respondent)

File Number(s):

2025/100515

Publication restriction:

Nil

 Decision under appeal 

Court or tribunal:

Supreme Court

Jurisdiction:

Common Law

Citation:

[2025] NSWSC 63

Date of Decision:

20 February 2025

Before:

Kirk J

File Number(s):

2023/454959

JUDGMENT

1. THE COURT: The applicant, Mr Gary Colman, is the owner of Lot 147 in a strata scheme at a residential building in Pyrmont, NSW, known as the Palladium. Lot 147 is an apartment on level 10 of the Palladium and Mr Colman’s title includes a rooftop terrace on level 11, comprising a western and eastern terrace. There are also common property areas on level 11. The respondent is the owners corporation of the strata scheme for the Palladium under s 9 of the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 (NSW) (SSM Act). The dispute giving rise to these proceedings relates to requests made by Mr Colman in 2019 and 2020 for approval of building works to be carried out on the terrace of Lot 147, some of which affected common property.

2. Some of these requests were approved but an application dated 7 January 2020 by Mr Colman for approval of building…