Etlis v New Age Constructions (NSW) Pty Ltd

The appeal concerned a dispute between Etlis (the appellant) and New Age Constructions (NSW) Pty Ltd (the respondent) regarding a building contract. The primary judge had adopted the report of a referee, and the appellant sought to appeal this decision.

The central legal issues before the Court of Appeal were whether the primary judge erred in adopting the referee's report, and whether the respondent was entitled to raise a new point of law concerning the exercise of the Court's powers, despite not having raised it at the initial hearing. The dispute also involved the interpretation of clause 6 of the "Plain English Building Agreement" (11th ed of Housing Industry Association), which dealt with extensions of time.

The Court of Appeal found no error in the primary judge's adoption of the referee's report. It also held that the respondent was entitled to raise the new point of law, as it was relevant to the Court's powers and the proper exercise of its discretion. The Court reasoned that the appeal was essentially against the primary judge's exercise of discretion, and that the new point of law was a matter that the Court could consider in reviewing that discretion.

The appeal was dismissed with costs.