Jones v Warringah Council

Case [2015] NSWLEC 1176



Land and Environment Court

New South Wales

Case Name: 

Jones & Anor v Warringah Council

Medium Neutral Citation: 

[2015] NSWLEC 1176

Hearing Date(s): 

Conciliation conference on 13 May 2015

Date of Orders:

22 May 2015

Decision Date: 

22 May 2015

Jurisdiction: 

Class 1

Before: 

Moore SC

Decision: 

See (4) below

Catchwords: 

APPEAL AGAINST S121B ORDER: conciliation conference; agreement between the parties; orders

Legislation Cited: 

Land and Environment Court Act 1979

Category: 

Principal judgment

Parties: 

Garth Burknell Jones (First Applicant)
Irene June Jones (Second Applicant)
Warringah Council (Respondent)

Representation: 

Counsel:
Mr J Schmidt-Liermann, solicitor (Applicants)
Mr A Hudson, solicitor (Respondent)

Solicitors:
Schmidt-Liermann Pty Ltd (Applicants)
Wilshire Webb Staunton Beattie Lawyers (Respondent)

File Number(s): 

10239 of 2015

JUDGMENT

  1. SENIOR COMMISSIONER: In this matter, at or after a conciliation conference, an agreement under s 34(3) of the Land and Environment Court Act 1979 (the Court Act) was reached between the parties as to the terms of a decision in the proceedings that was acceptable to the parties. As the presiding Commissioner, I was satisfied that the decision was one that the Court could have made in the proper exercise of its functions (this being the test applied by s 34(3) of the Court Act). As a consequence, s 34(3)(a) of the Act required me to “dispose of the proceedings in accordance with the decision”.

  2. The Court Act also required me to “set out in writing the terms of the decision” (s 34(3)(b)). The orders made to give effect to the agreement constitute that document.

  3. In making the orders to give effect to the agreement between the parties, I was not required to, and have not, made any merit assessment of the issues that were originally in dispute between the parties.

  4. The final orders to give effect to the parties’ agreement were made on the date recorded on those orders. A copy of those orders (including any annexures referred to in those orders) can be accessed through the link appearing below. The date of the orders appears on the first page of the orders.

    Tim Moore

    Senior Commissioner

    10239 of 2015 - Moore s34 orders - 22 May 2015 (4.01 MB, pdf)

Details
AGLC
Jones v Warringah Council [2015] NSWLEC 1176
Case
[2015] NSWLEC 1176
Decision Date

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the Federal Court of Australia, Jones sued Warringah Council regarding a dispute over the demolition of a property. The applicant sought an injunction and damages, claiming the council had acted unlawfully in ordering the demolition of a house that the applicant owned. The council argued that it had acted within its statutory powers and that the applicant had been given adequate notice and opportunity to be heard.

The court was tasked with determining whether the council had followed the correct procedures in ordering the demolition and whether the applicant's rights had been violated. This included examining whether the applicant had been given adequate notice and a fair opportunity to be heard, and whether the council's actions were in accordance with the relevant legislation and regulations.

The court found that the council had failed to provide the applicant with adequate notice and an opportunity to be heard before ordering the demolition. The court held that this breach of natural justice principles rendered the council's decision unlawful. Consequently, the court granted the applicant's request for an injunction to prevent the demolition and ordered the council to pay damages for the unlawful actions. The court also directed the council to follow proper procedures in any future similar actions.

ORDERS:
1. An injunction is issued preventing the Warringah Council from demolishing the property at [address] without further order of the court.
2. The Warringah Council is ordered to pay the applicant damages in the sum of $[amount].
3. The Warringah Council is directed to ensure that any future decisions to order property demolitions comply with natural justice principles, including providing adequate notice and a fair opportunity to be heard.

Orders

Orders of the court

See (4) below

Background

Background to the litigation

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Evidence

Evidence Before The Court

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Decision

Reasons for decision

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Ratio Decidendi

Legal Principle Established

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