In Mann v Paterson Constructions Pty Ltd [2019] HCA 32 the High Court clarified the availability of the restitutionary remedy of ’quantum meruit’ to a builder in the specific circumstances where the builder terminates the contract following repudiatory behaviour of a homeowner. A literal translation of ‘quantum meruit’ is ’the amount he deserves’. It can […]
The Contractors Debts Act 1997 is often overlooked but, used correctly, can assist unpaid subcontractors, typically tradesmen, suppliers or labourers, when they are owed money by a builder. In these circumstances, the CDA entitles a subcontractor to leapfrog over the builder and obtain payment directly from the principal (or home-owner) who engaged the defaulting contractor. […]
Trader check, your one-stop-shop for information about trades. Trader Check is one part of the Government’s better business reforms and aims to provide consumers with a free, online ‘one-stop-shop’ of information about traders. The Better Business Reforms are scheduled to be introduced into the NSW parliament this month. Currently, consumers search multiple websites to identify […]
HSC check – is your building contractor insured? Whether your builder or contractor takes out a Home Building Compensation policy can be critical. Therefore Fair Trading’s recent launch of a brand new online search facility called “HBC Check” is very welcome to home-owners and industry participants alike. This tool supplements the existing suite of consumer […]
Extension of misleading and deceptive conduct claims may benefit home-owners. This decision can be contrasted with the 2009 judgment of His Honour Justice Hammerschlag in Janet Campbell v C.J. Cordony & Sons Pty Limited [2009] NSWSC 63. In both Elias and Campbell the builder’s directors were held to have misrepresented that the company had obtained home […]
A warning to unlicensed contractors and uninsured builders. I often come across unlicensed and uninsured ‘contractors’ despite the fact that the risks of contracting without either licence or insurance can be significant. A builder who contracts to carry out residential building work over $20,000 without insurance may encounter difficulties in obtaining payment. Moreover, financial penalties can […]
