Ho v Turcinovic

CITATION: Ho & Anor v Turcinovic & Anor [2013] QCAT 248

PARTIES:	Thi Dieu Hien Ho Tung Huu Le (Applicants)
V
Mr Hajrudin Turcinovic HNT Builders Pty Ltd (Respondents)

APPLICATION NUMBER: BDL028-13

MATTER TYPE: Building matters

HEARING DATE: 17 May 2013

HEARD AT: Brisbane

DECISION OF: Richard Oliver, Senior Member

DELIVERED ON: 29 May 2013

DELIVERED AT: Brisbane

ORDERS MADE: The respondents pay to the applicants the sum of $20,000.00 by 30 June 2013.

CATCHWORDS:

CONTRACT – where applicants dealing exclusively with Harry Turcinovic to carry out building work – where contract signed by the applicants has the named builder as HNT Builders – where HNT Builders is a proprietary limited company – where licensee is the Nihad Turcinovic, the son of Harry Turcinovic – where applicants never intended to contract with HNT Builders Pty Ltd – whether there was intention to create legal relations.

Domestic Building Contracts Act 2000 (Qld) s 72

Air Great Lakes Pty Ltd v K S Easter (Holdings) Pty Ltd (1985) 2 NSWR 309

APPEARANCES and REPRESENTATION (if any):

APPLICANTS: Self - represented

RESPONDENTS: Self - represented

REASONS FOR DECISION

1. In mid 2012 the applicants were the owners of land at Plimsoll Street in Greenslopes. They wanted to carry out building work on the land which involved the renovation of the existing house and building two units.[1] Mr Harry Turcinovic was doing building work in the area with, it now seems, HNT Builders Pty Ltd a building company of which his son Nihad Turcinovic is both the director and licencee.

   [1]        Exhibit 2 – Schedule 1, Item 4.

2. After some negotations, the applicants signed a contract with “HNT Builders” believing they were cotracting with Mr Harry Trunicovic who held a current builders licence, number 41047. They paid a cash deposit to Mr Turconivic of $20,000. Upon realising that the builder was going to be HNT Builders Pty Ltd and not Mr Turcinovic, whose licence has been cancelled, they immediately wrote to the respondents demanding a refund of the deposit paid and bringing to an end any contracutal relationship, if one existed. As an alternative, if it is found that there is a contract with HNT Builders Pty Ltd, then the applications say they have exercised their rights under s 72 of the Domestic Building Contracs Act 2000 (Qld) to withdraw from the contract.

3. The deposit was not repaid and therefore an application was made to the Tribunal for a refund of the deposit. The issue for determination is whether there is a binding contract with HNT Builders Pty Ltd and, if there is, whether the applicants have lawfully withdrawn from the contract.

4. Initital contact between the applicants and Harry Trucinovic occurred when they had a meeting to discuss the project in mid 2012. At the meeting Mr Le says he was handed an advertising “flyer” which describes the builder as HNT Civil Construction Maintenance and represents the builder as “Master Builders Association Award Winning Builder 2010”. The licence number referred to on the flyer is…