The Owners Strata Plan No 64757 v Sydney Remedial Builders Pty Ltd

The Owners Strata Plan No 64757 (the Owners) sought leave to appeal an interlocutory decision of the primary judge in the New South Wales Court of Appeal. The dispute concerned proceedings brought by Sydney Remedial Builders Pty Ltd (the Builders) against the Owners under the *Home Building Act 1989* (NSW). The primary judge had adopted a report prepared by a referee, which the Owners contended was an appealable decision.

The central legal issue before the Court of Appeal was whether the primary judge's adoption of the referee's report constituted an interlocutory decision from which leave to appeal was required. A further, albeit secondary, issue related to the interpretation of section 3B of the *Home Building Act 1989* (NSW), specifically whether the Builders' application was brought out of time, and the distinction between "completion" and "practical completion" in that context.

Leeming and Payne JJA refused leave to appeal. Their Honours reasoned that the adoption of a referee's report by a judge is generally not an appealable decision in itself, but rather a step in the proceedings. The substantive appeal, if any, would lie from the final judgment of the court. The Court noted that the Owners had not demonstrated that the primary judge's adoption of the report was attended by error, nor that there were any other compelling reasons to grant leave to appeal an interlocutory decision. The application for leave to appeal was therefore dismissed.