Council of the City of Sydney v Meriton Apartments Pty Limited

The Council of the City of Sydney (the Council) sought leave to appeal from a decision of the Supreme Court of New South Wales concerning the validity of certain development consents granted to Meriton Apartments Pty Limited (Meriton). The dispute centred on whether the Council had acted unlawfully in granting these consents, which Meriton intended to rely upon as a defence to a claim by the Council for alleged breaches of development consent conditions.

The primary legal issue before the Court of Appeal was whether the Supreme Court had erred in finding that the development consents were validly granted, despite Meriton's alleged failure to comply with certain pre-conditions stipulated in the original development consent. Specifically, the Court had to consider the effect of Meriton's purported compliance with these conditions and the Council's subsequent actions in issuing the development consents.

The Court of Appeal, in refusing leave to appeal, implicitly upheld the Supreme Court's reasoning that the Council, having granted the development consents, could not subsequently challenge their validity on the grounds that pre-conditions had not been met. The Court likely applied principles of administrative law concerning the finality of decisions and the potential for estoppel or waiver where a public authority has acted upon a decision. The Council's attempt to resile from its earlier grant of consent was found to be without merit.

Leave to appeal was refused with costs.