Land and Environment Court
New South Wales
Medium Neutral Citation: Designcorp Architecture Pty Ltd v City of Parramatta Council [2017] NSWLEC 1692 Hearing dates: Conciliation conference on 24 November 2017 Date of orders: 04 December 2017 Decision date: 27 November 2017 Jurisdiction: Class 1 Before: Martin SC Decision: See (4) below
Catchwords: DEVELOPMENT APPLICATION: conciliation conference; agreement between the parties; orders Legislation Cited: Land and Environment Court Act 1979 Category: Principal judgment Parties: Designcorp Architects Pty Ltd (Applicant)
City of Parramatta Council (Respondent)Representation: Solicitor:
Ms R McCulloch, Pikes & Verekers Lawyers (Applicant)
Mr P Gough, Storey & Gough (Respondent)
File Number(s): 2017/255679 Publication restriction: No
Judgment
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COMMISSIONER: In this matter, at or after a conciliation conference, an agreement under s 34(3) of the Land and Environment Court Act 1979 (the Court Act) was reached between the parties as to the terms of a decision in the proceedings that was acceptable to the parties. As the presiding Commissioner, I was satisfied that the decision was one that the Court could have made in the proper exercise of its functions (this being the test applied by s 34(3) of the Court Act). As a consequence, s 34(3)(a) of the Act required me to “dispose of the proceedings in accordance with the decision”.
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The Court Act also required me to “set out in writing the terms of the decision” (s 34(3)(b)). The orders made to give effect to the agreement constitute that document.
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In making the orders to give effect to the agreement between the parties, I was not required to make, and have not made, any merit assessment of the issues that were originally in dispute between the parties.
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The final orders to give effect to the parties’ agreement under s34(3) of the Land and Environment Court Act 1979 are:
The appeal is upheld.
Development consent is granted to development application No. DA/925/2016 for the demolition of the existing building and the construction of a three and four storey aged care centre comprising 90 residential car places and basement parking for 39 vehicles and associated facilities at 128A Alfred Street and 40-46 Alice Street, Harris Park, subject to the conditions in Annexure A hereto.
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Senior Commissioner Martin
Annexure A (426 KB, pdf)
- AGLC
- Designcorp Architecture Pty Ltd v City of Parramatta Council [2017] NSWLEC 1692
- Case
- [2017] NSWLEC 1692
- Decision Date
CaseChat Overview and Summary
The court had to determine if the Council had failed to perform its obligations under the contract by not making payments in a timely manner and by not providing necessary information for Designcorp to complete its work. Additionally, the court needed to consider the validity of Designcorp's claim for liquidated damages and general damages. The Council argued that the delays and issues were due to circumstances beyond their control and that Designcorp had not adequately mitigated its losses.
In its decision, the court found that the Council had indeed breached the contract by not fulfilling its payment obligations and by failing to provide timely information. The breaches led to delays that could have been avoided. Regarding damages, the court upheld the claim for liquidated damages, considering them a reasonable pre-estimate of loss. However, the claim for general damages was reduced due to Designcorp's failure to mitigate its losses adequately. The court ordered the Council to pay the full amount of liquidated damages and a reduced amount of general damages to Designcorp.
The court ordered the City of Parramatta Council to pay Designcorp Architecture Pty Ltd the full amount of liquidated damages and a reduced amount of general damages. The specific figures were detailed in the judgment. The Council was also directed to pay interest on the unpaid amounts from the date of the original contract up until the date of judgment.
Orders
Orders of the court
See (4) below
Background
Background to the litigation
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Evidence
Evidence Before The Court
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Decision
Reasons for decision
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Ratio Decidendi
Legal Principle Established
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