Diab v Cavasinni

Diab v Cavasinni is a case before the Supreme Court of New South Wales, where the plaintiff, Diab, is contesting the defendant, Cavasinni's, modification application regarding a development consent and the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979. Diab is challenging the validity of the consent and the environmental impact of the proposed modifications. The central legal issues before the court were the breach of development consent and the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979, and the appropriate remedy and relief that should be granted by the Court in relation to any breach found. The court also considered the respondents' obligations to file amended points of defence, additional evidence, and expert reports, as well as the expeditious determination of any Class 1 appeals or applications.

The court ruled that the question of breach of the development consent and the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 must be heard and determined separately from any other question, including the appropriate remedy and relief that should be granted by the Court in relation to any breach found. The court also ordered that the separate question of breach should be heard and determined on the dates fixed for hearing on 3 and 4 February 2020. The respondents were required to file and serve amended points of defence by 5pm on 8 January 2020, and any additional evidence on the separate question of breach by 15 January 2020. The applicant was to file and serve any evidence in response to the respondents' evidence by 24 January 2020. The parties' experts, grouped in each discipline, were to confer with a view to providing a joint expert report to the parties and the Court by 12 noon on 31 January 2020. The respondents were to take all reasonable steps to have any Class 1 appeal or application concerning their modification application heard and determined expeditiously. Lastly, the respondents were to pay the applicant’s costs of the respondents’ notice of motion filed on 23 December 2019.