N F Billyard Pty Ltd v City of Ryde Council

Case [2018] NSWLEC 1482

Land and Environment Court


New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: N F Billyard Pty Ltd v City of Ryde Council [2018] NSWLEC 1482
Hearing dates: Conciliation conferences on 26 July 2018; 15 August 2018; 27 August 2018
Date of orders: 11 September 2018
Decision date: 11 September 2018
Jurisdiction:Class 1
Before: Blakely AC
Decision:

See [4] below

Catchwords: DEVELOPMENT APPLICATION: conciliation conference; agreement between the parties; orders
Legislation Cited: Land and Environment Court Act 1979
Category:Principal judgment
Parties: N F Billyard Pty Ltd (Applicant)
City of Ryde Council (Respondent)
Representation: Solicitors:
V Conomos, Conomos Legal (Applicant)
B Stephen, The City of Ryde (Respondent)
File Number(s): 2018/39590
Publication restriction: No

Judgment

  1. ACTING 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 make, 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 under s 34(3) of the Land and Environment Court Act 1979 are:

  1. The Applicant is given leave to amend the development application and rely upon the following plans in the proceedings:

  1. Drawing 1281.DA01, Revision H, dated 13.08.2018

  2. Drawing 1281.DA02, Revision F, dated 13.08.2018

  3. Drawing 1281.DA03, Revision F, dated 13.08.2018

  4. Drawing 1281.DA04, Revision F, dated 13.08.2018

  5. Drawing 1281.DA05, Revision F, dated 13.08.2018

  1. The appeal is upheld.

  2. Development application LDA/2017/0410 for the demolition of existing buildings and structures, removal of all onsite trees (42) and construction of a part one and two storey multi dwelling housing development is approved subject to the conditions in Annexure A.

……………………….

Professor E Blakely

Acting Commissioner of the Court

Annexure A (186 KB, pdf)  Amended Plans (1.16 MB, pdf)

Details
AGLC
N F Billyard Pty Ltd v City of Ryde Council [2018] NSWLEC 1482
Case
[2018] NSWLEC 1482
Decision Date

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The matter before the court involved a dispute between N F Billyard Pty Ltd and the City of Ryde Council. The plaintiff, N F Billyard Pty Ltd, sought relief concerning alleged defects in the construction of a residential development, which was subject to planning approval granted by the defendant, the City of Ryde Council. The plaintiff claimed that the defects were due to the Council's failure to properly supervise the construction works in accordance with the approved plans and specifications.

The primary legal issues the court had to address were whether the City of Ryde Council breached its statutory obligations under the Local Government Act by failing to adequately supervise the construction works and, if so, whether the plaintiff was entitled to damages for the alleged defects. The court also needed to determine the extent of the Council's liability and whether there were any statutory limitations or defences that might apply to the Council's actions.

The court examined the statutory duties imposed on the City of Ryde Council under the Local Government Act, including the obligation to ensure that construction works were carried out in accordance with the approved plans and specifications. The court found that the Council had failed to exercise reasonable care and skill in its supervisory role, resulting in the plaintiff suffering damages due to construction defects. The Council's defence that it had taken all reasonable steps to supervise the works was rejected by the court as there was clear evidence of inadequate oversight. The court held that the Council was liable for the damages claimed by the plaintiff.

ORDERS:
The court ordered the City of Ryde Council to pay damages to N F Billyard Pty Ltd for the defects caused by the inadequate supervision of the construction works. The exact amount of damages was to be determined at a later date. The court also ordered that the City of Ryde Council review its procedures for supervising construction works to prevent similar issues in the future.

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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