Gough and Gilmour Holdings Pty Ltd v Peter Campbell Earthmoving Pty Ltd (No 2)

The appeal and cross-appeal in *Gough and Gilmour Holdings Pty Ltd v Peter Campbell Earthmoving Pty Ltd (No 2)* concerned a dispute arising from contracts for the provision of earthmoving services. The primary judge had entered judgment in favour of the respondent, Peter Campbell Earthmoving Pty Ltd, for a substantial sum. The appellant, Gough and Gilmour Holdings Pty Ltd, sought to overturn this judgment, while the respondent also pursued aspects of its case.

The central legal issues before the Court of Appeal involved determining whether the primary judge had erred in his findings regarding breaches of contract, specifically concerning a "Minimum Hours Warranty" within the FOCUS Contracts. The court was required to consider the adequacy of the primary judge's assessment of damages and to review specific aspects of the respondent's defence to the cross-claim.

The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal and cross-appeal in part. It set aside the judgment previously entered for the respondent. The matter was remitted to the Primary Judge for further determination on whether there had been a breach of the "Minimum Hours Warranty" in the FOCUS Contracts, and if so, to assess the resulting damages. The court also directed the Primary Judge to consider paragraph 15(b) of the respondent's amended defence to the cross-claim. The parties were ordered to bear their own costs of the appeal, with the costs of the further hearing and earlier proceedings to be determined by the Primary Judge at the conclusion of the remitted proceedings.