Owners Corporation - Strata Plan 41710 v Lee

The Owners Corporation - Strata Plan 41710 filed a proceeding against Lee in the Civil and Administrative Tribunal of New South Wales. The dispute concerns a breach of an interim order made by an adjudicator under the Strata Schemes Management Act 1996 (NSW). The Owners Corporation sought a pecuniary penalty for the contravention of the adjudicator's order. The Tribunal had to determine whether Lee had breached the adjudicator's order and, if so, the appropriate penalty.

The primary legal issue was whether Lee had contravened the interim order made by the adjudicator on 8 July 2015. The Tribunal needed to consider the nature of the interim order, whether Lee was aware of it, and whether the contravention was deliberate or inadvertent. The Owners Corporation argued that Lee had deliberately breached the order by continuing with construction activities despite the adjudicator's directive to cease. Lee argued that the contravention was not deliberate and that there was a genuine misunderstanding.

The Tribunal found that Lee had contravened the adjudicator's order by continuing with construction activities in direct defiance of the interim order. The Tribunal considered the evidence presented, including the terms of the adjudicator's order and Lee's actions following the order. The Tribunal concluded that Lee had been fully aware of the interim order but chose to ignore it, leading to a deliberate contravention. The Tribunal imposed a penalty of 17 penalty units and ordered Lee to pay the Owners Corporation's costs of the proceeding.