Honeywood v Munnings

In *Honeywood v Munnings*, the executrix of a deceased builder appealed to the Court of Appeal of New South Wales against a decision of the Supreme Court which had upheld a tribunal's dismissal of her application. The dispute concerned a second claim brought by the executrix against the proprietors for work done under a building contract, following an earlier successful claim by the proprietors against the deceased builder for breach of that same contract.

The central legal issue before the Court of Appeal was whether the proprietors' earlier judgment against the deceased builder for breach of the building contract extinguished, by operation of the doctrine of *res judicata* (specifically, merger of the cause of action), any subsequent claim by the builder's executrix for work done under that contract. The court also considered the principles of statutory construction in relation to Parliament's presumed knowledge of existing law.

The Court of Appeal, in allowing the appeal, held that the proprietors' earlier judgment for breach of contract did indeed extinguish the cause of action, thereby barring the executrix's subsequent claim. Handley JA, with whom Giles JA and Hislop J agreed, reasoned that once a judgment is obtained on a cause of action, that cause of action merges in the judgment and can no longer be the subject of further proceedings. The court found that the proprietors' claim for damages for breach of contract encompassed the issue of the value of work done, and therefore the executrix's subsequent claim for payment for that work was barred by the doctrine of *res judicata*.

Consequently, the Court of Appeal set aside the orders of the Supreme Court and the Tribunal, allowing the executrix's appeal to the Supreme Court with costs. The orders of the Tribunal dismissing the executrix's notice of motion were also set aside, and in lieu thereof, the proprietors' application to the Tribunal was dismissed with costs. The proceedings were remitted to the Tribunal with liberty for either party to apply for costs. The proprietors were also granted certificates under the Suitors' Fund Act 1951 for the costs of the appeal in the Common Law Division and the further appeal.