Smith v Collings Homes Pty Ltd

Smith, the applicant, appealed to the Court of Appeal of New South Wales against a decision of the Consumer, Trader and Tenancy Tribunal. The dispute concerned a building contract between Smith and Collings Homes Pty Ltd, the respondent, and allegations of misleading and deceptive conduct in contravention of the *Fair Trading Act 1987* (NSW).

The primary legal issues before the Court of Appeal were whether the Tribunal had erred in law in its determination of the building dispute and whether the Tribunal had denied Smith procedural fairness. Specifically, the Court was asked to consider whether the Tribunal's decision involved "a question with respect to a matter of law" for the purposes of an appeal.

The Court of Appeal found that the Tribunal had indeed made errors of law in its assessment of the evidence and in its application of legal principles to the facts. Furthermore, the Court determined that Smith had been denied procedural fairness by the Tribunal. The Court reasoned that the Tribunal's approach had failed to adequately consider all relevant evidence and arguments presented by Smith, leading to an unfair outcome.

The appeal was allowed, and the Court of Appeal ordered that Collings Homes Pty Ltd pay Smith's costs of the appeal.