Mainteck Services Pty Limited v Stein Heurtey SA

Mainteck Services Pty Limited, the plaintiff, brought an action against Stein Heurtey SA, the defendant, to recover damages for breach of contract. The dispute involved the interpretation and validity of a construction contract and the admissibility of certain evidence. The case was heard by the Supreme Court of New South Wales. The primary legal issues before the court were whether the referee's report should be adopted or rejected in part, and whether the plaintiff should be permitted to withdraw an admission in relation to the referee's report. Additionally, the court needed to determine whether the contract was void for uncertainty and whether the findings in the referee's report were unreasonable or perverse.

The court began by examining the principles governing the adoption of a referee's report, noting that the referee's findings were generally binding unless they were unreasonable or perverse. In this case, the court found that the referee's conclusions were neither unreasonable nor perverse. The court then turned to the issue of whether the plaintiff could withdraw an admission concerning the referee's report. The court held that the plaintiff was not permitted to withdraw the admission, as it would undermine the integrity of the dispute resolution process. Regarding the validity of the contract, the court held that it should be construed to preserve its validity where possible, and found that the contract was not void for uncertainty.

The court ultimately held that the referee's report should be adopted in full and that the plaintiff could not withdraw the admission in relation to the report. The court found that the contract was not void for uncertainty, and that the referee's findings were reasonable and should be adopted. The court ordered that the plaintiff pay the defendant's costs of the application.