Hanna v Kersten; Kersten v Hanna

In Hanna v Kersten; Kersten v Hanna, the Federal Court of Australia addressed a dispute between Alice Hanna and Thomas Peter Kersten and Anthony Lawrence Kersten, trading as Castleridge Constructions. The central issue was the recovery of a sum of money, $106,829.90, along with the assessment of costs and the jurisdiction of the court. The dispute originated from a home building contract where Kersten was the registered builder but performed the work through a partnership. The dispute involved claims of misleading conduct, recovery of GST, and the application of statutory warranties and principles governing work or money orders.

The court had to determine the appropriate jurisdiction, whether an implied term existed in the contract, and whether the statutory warranties applied. Additionally, the court considered the principles governing work orders or money orders, proportionality, quantum meruit, and what was just and equitable given the lack of insurance. The court also examined the parties' agreement on the handling of costs and whether the provisional view of the Tribunal on costs was to be contested.

The court ruled in favour of Hanna, ordering the Kersten defendants to pay the specified amount on or before 12 April 2019. The Tribunal noted its provisional view that the respondents would pay Hanna's costs of the proceedings on the ordinary basis. The court also ordered the parties to notify the Tribunal by 19 March 2019 if they contested the provisional view on costs. If either party contested the view, written submissions and any further evidence on costs were to be lodged and served by specific dates. This decision provided clarity on the application of statutory warranties and jurisdictional matters in home building disputes.