Preston Erection Pty Limited v Sandman Holdings Pty Limited

Preston Erection Pty Limited (the applicant) sought special leave to appeal to the High Court of Australia against a decision of an intermediate appellate court. Sandman Holdings Pty Limited was the respondent. The dispute concerned, among other things, a claim for damages and a point regarding disqualification.

The primary legal issue before the High Court was whether special leave to appeal should be granted. Specifically, the applicant sought to argue a point concerning disqualification, which they considered their strongest argument. They also wished to pursue a point relating to contract and damages, though the precise nature of this argument and its relationship to the damage assessment was a matter of discussion.

The applicant's counsel indicated that they did not wish to argue the damage point in its entirety before the High Court, but rather sought a remitter to the Court of Appeal, and subsequently to the trial judge, for damages to be assessed. This was predicated on the argument that there was sufficient material for the trial judge to have found a loss of opportunity and assessed damages. However, the Court questioned the relevance of this if the evidence, as found by the lower courts, indicated no loss flowing from a breach of contract. The applicant maintained that the disqualification point was the strongest and the primary reason for seeking special leave.