Litigation

A judge has dismissed a case brought by a sand importer against the Port Authority of NSW seeking to recoup alleged lost profits and reliance damages falling from a lease agreement for a multi-user facility in the Sydney harbour. 

Criminal proceedings have been lobbed against Netstrata and managing director Stephen Brell, accusing the strata management company of conflicts of interest in connection with payments from contractors.

A court has extended urgent freezing orders against the developers of the $133 million Babylon Apartments in the north-west Sydney suburb of Rouse Hill, in a dispute over a builder's payment debt.

A HWL Ebsworth major projects partner has been fined $10,000 for unsatisfactory professional conduct after sending angry text messages to a builder over work on his home, including one message that threatened to "bite" him.

An appeals court has ordered Colliers to pay a former director more than $110,000 for serving as agent on a lease at the Westfield in Sydney's CBD, which he did not receive after he left the firm in 2016.

A subcontractor that provided piling services on a Parramatta RSL carpark project has been ordered to pay excavation contractor A-Civil more than $350,000, with a judge finding it was liable for liquidated damages and other amounts.

The Retirement Villages Act was unfit for the purpose of protecting both former residents at a Paterson Lakes retirement village and new apartment owners, who appeared to be victims of an "exploitative" scheme by former managers and operators, a court has found.

Three Sydney residents have dropped their claims against Transport for New South Wales in a suit alleging a new cycleway on Oxford Street is discriminatory, after the court struck out most of their claims against the government agency. 

Melbourne builder Cobild has resolved a lawsuit brought against a developer arguing it must return a $497,000 bank guarantee under a contract to build a $50 million office complex.

A judge has discharged the mortgages and caveats developer Oliver Hume holds over a residential subdivision project in Onkaparinga Heights in favour of a renegotiated arrangement, allowing the landowner to deal with property amid an ongoing court dispute.