Fyna Constructions (NSW) Pty Ltd v Sesar

Fyna Constructions (NSW) Pty Ltd (the appellant) appealed to the New South Wales Court of Appeal against a decision of the Supreme Court of New South Wales. The dispute concerned the appellant's entitlement to payment for work carried out under a building contract. The respondent, Sesar, had terminated the contract and sought to recover damages for alleged breaches by the appellant.

The primary legal issues before the Court of Appeal were whether the respondent was entitled to terminate the contract and, if so, whether the appellant was entitled to any payment for the work it had performed prior to termination. The court also considered the proper assessment of damages in the event that the termination was found to be wrongful.

The Court of Appeal found that the respondent had wrongfully repudiated the building contract. The court reasoned that the respondent's actions, in purporting to terminate the contract and subsequently engaging another builder, constituted a breach of contract so fundamental as to amount to a repudiation. Consequently, the appellant was entitled to elect to treat the contract as terminated and to claim damages for the loss of the benefit of the contract. The court applied the principles of contract law relating to repudiation and the assessment of damages for wrongful termination, including the recovery of the value of work done.

The appeal was allowed, and the matter was remitted to the Supreme Court for the assessment of the appellant's damages.