The Owners - Strata Plan 89041 v Galyan Pty Ltd

The Owners - Strata Plan 89041 brought a claim against Galyan Pty Ltd regarding allegedly defective building work. The case was referred to a referee and the report was subsequently adopted by the court. The legal issue before the court was whether it was unreasonable for the plaintiff not to allow the defendant to effect repairs, which would affect the apportionment of costs between the parties. The court was required to decide whether, under the circumstances, it was unreasonable for the plaintiff not to permit the defendant to enter the site and address the alleged defects.

The court noted that generally, costs follow the event, meaning that the losing party is typically ordered to pay the costs of the winning party. However, in this case, there was an agreement that the defendants would pay the plaintiff's costs unless they could demonstrate that it was unreasonable for the plaintiff not to allow the defendants to effect repairs. The court considered the circumstances in which the plaintiff refused to allow the defendant to re-enter the site and found that it was not unreasonable for the plaintiff to do so. The court was satisfied that the plaintiff had acted reasonably in refusing to allow the defendant to re-enter the site and address the alleged defects. As a result, the court ordered the defendants to pay the plaintiff's costs of the proceeding, in accordance with the agreement between the parties.

The court's decision was based on the specific circumstances of the case, including the nature of the defects, the actions of the parties, and the agreement between them. The court found that the plaintiff had acted reasonably in refusing to allow the defendant to re-enter the site and address the alleged defects, and that it was not unreasonable for the plaintiff to do so. The court's decision was in line with the general rule that costs follow the event, and the agreement between the parties that the defendants would pay the plaintiff's costs unless it was unreasonable for the plaintiff not to allow the defendants to effect repairs. The final orders of the court were that the defendants pay the plaintiff's costs of the proceeding.