Michael Davies Associates Pty Ltd v South Sydney Municipal Council

Land and Environment Court

of New South Wales

CITATION: Michael Davies Associates Pty Ltd & Anor v South Sydney Municipal Council [1989] NSWLEC 179

PARTIES:
APPLICANT
Michael Davies Associates Pty Ltd
RESPONDENT
South Sydney Municipal Council

FILE NUMBER(S): 10284 of 1985

CORAM: Stein J

KEY ISSUES: :-

LEGISLATION CITED: Environmental Planning And Assessment Act

CASES CITED:

DATES OF HEARING:

DATE OF JUDGMENT:
04/17/1989

LEGAL REPRESENTATIVES:

JUDGMENT:

HIS HONOUR: This matter concerns an application to modify a consent under s.102 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act. It was heard immediately following No. 40094 of 1989, in respect of which I have just published my Judgment. Since I have held in the Class 4 proceeding that the purported extension of the consent by the City Commissioners, (which consent is now sought to be modified), is a nullity and that the subject consent lapsed on 2 January 1988, the modification application must necessarily fail.

In these circumstances there is no point in me considering the merits of the s.102 application and I decline to do so. The application is dismissed with each party to bear its own costs. The exhibits may be returned.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The case of Michael Davies Associates Pty Ltd v South Sydney Municipal Council was heard in the Land and Environment Court of New South Wales. The applicant, Michael Davies Associates Pty Ltd, sought to modify a consent under section 102 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act. The respondent, South Sydney Municipal Council, opposed the application. This case was heard immediately after another matter, No. 40094 of 1989, which involved the same parties and the same legislative framework.

The key legal issue the court had to decide was whether the modification application could proceed given that the court had previously ruled the extension of the consent by the City Commissioners to be a nullity. This ruling meant that the consent had lapsed on 2 January 1988. The court needed to determine if it should consider the merits of the modification application in light of this finding. The court also needed to decide whether the application should be dismissed and who should bear the costs of the proceedings.

In delivering the judgment, the court noted that since the extension of the consent was found to be a nullity, the consent had effectively lapsed. As a result, the modification application was necessarily bound to fail. The court declined to consider the merits of the application and dismissed it. The court also ordered that each party bear its own costs and that the exhibits be returned. The ruling underscores the importance of the procedural validity of consents in environmental planning and assessment matters.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established

CITATION:	Michael Davies Associates Pty Ltd & Anor v South Sydney Municipal Council [1989] NSWLEC 179
PARTIES:	APPLICANT Michael Davies Associates Pty Ltd RESPONDENT South Sydney Municipal Council
FILE NUMBER(S):	10284 of 1985
CORAM:	Stein J
KEY ISSUES:	:-
LEGISLATION CITED:	Environmental Planning And Assessment Act
CASES CITED:
DATES OF HEARING:
DATE OF JUDGMENT:	04/17/1989
LEGAL REPRESENTATIVES: