Construction: Duties and Disputes
New legislation such as the Design and Building Practitioners Act 2020 and new ways of looking at the Home Building Act 1989 are the hot issues in construction law right now. This useful seminar brings together experts in the residential building field to provide a timely update to the issue of Work Orders vs Monetary Claims under the Home Building Act, including strategies for NCAT disputes and an in depth look at major changes to duties owed by builders, designers and others.
Description
Attend and earn 2 CPD units in Substantive Law
This program is based on NSW legislation
Chair: Frank Hicks SC, Greenway Chambers; Leading Construction & Infrastructure Senior Counsel, Doyle’s Guide 2020
2.00pm to 2.15pm: Opening Address: Insights with Regards to Home Building Act Disputes
Presented by Kim Rosser, Principal Member,NSW Civil & Administrative Tribunal
2.15pm to 3.15pm: Design and Building Practitioners Act 2020
- New duty owed by a person who carries out construction work to exercise reasonable care
- Duty owned to owners of land on which work carried out and each subsequent owner including owners corporations
- Retrospective operation of Act and limitation issues
- Duty owed by builders, designers, suppliers, supervisors and anyone having substantive control over the carrying out of work
- Potential to pierce corporate veil and make company directors and nominated supervisors personally liable
- Application of apportionment provisions of Civil Liability Act
- Interaction with statutory warranty and contract claims
Presented by Tom Davie, Barrister, Queen’s Square Chambers; author, Annotated Home Building Act, Prospect Media, 2000 and co-author, Understanding Construction Law, LexisNexis 2015, 2nd edition; Recommended Construction & Infrastructure Junior Counsel, Doyle’s Guide 2020
3.15pm to 3.30pm: Cladding Litigation: Case Study
Hear firsthand from a barrister involved in a major recent cladding decision
Presented by Tom Davie, Barrister, Queen’s Square Chambers; author, Annotated Home Building Act, Prospect Media, 2000 and co-author, Understanding Construction Law, LexisNexis 2015, 2nd edition; Recommended Construction & Infrastructure Junior Counsel, Doyle’s Guide 2020
3.30pm to 4.15pm: Work Orders vs Monetary Claims under the Home Building Act
- S48MA of the HBA where the preference is for the Responsible Party to return and rectify defects (and the factors the Tribunal is to take into account when deciding whether to make a Work Order)
- The owners’ duty to mitigate loss and to allow reasonable access to the builder to return and rectify defects
- Strategies when acting for the Applicants (owners) in NCAT proceedings in terms of structuring the case for either a Work Order, monetary order or both (and preparing the Points of Claim, evidence in chief or in Reply)
- Strategies when acting for the Respondents (builders/contractors) in NCAT proceedings in defending the claim for either a Work Order or monetary order (and preparing the evidence and Points of Defence)
- Tips and strategies for the settlement conferences
Presented by Stephen Aroney, Partner, Mills Oakley
Presenters
Frank Hicks SC
Since 2014, Doyles Guide has ranked Frank as a leading junior counsel in construction law, in both NSW and Australia. Since 2015, he has been identified in the Chambers and Partners Guide, Asia-Pacific as a Band 1 barrister in Australia for construction and infrastructure disputes, described as "a 'go to' barrister for construction and engineering disputes", having "a clear analytical approach to construction issues", and "a popular choice for construction and technology disputes and offers experience in a range of forums. Frank Hicks SC has been published in the Building and Construction Law Journal and, in 2006, completed the updating and editing of Halsbury's Laws of Australia, Building and Construction title.
Kim Rosser
Kim is a Principal Member of the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal, where she predominantly sits in the Consumer and Commercial Division (CCD) and on the Appeal Panel. In the CCD, Kim currently manages the home building, retail leases, strata and community schemes and retirement villages lists. Kim has more than 20 years' experience as a Member of various State and Commonwealth Tribunals.
Tom Davie
Tom is a barrister with considerable experience in conducting commercial and construction and strata disputes. He has conducted many hearings in the Fair Trading Tribunal, the CTTT and the ADT (as they then were), and a number of hearings in the new Tribunal.
Stephen Aroney
Stephen is a recognised specialist in home warranty insurance, building disputes and general insurance law. He also has considerable experience in property and strata law. Stephen's practise of these areas of law exceeds a period of 14 years and he has earned a reputation for providing exceptional, efficient and quality legal services. Stephen's specialty in building, insurance, property and strata law provides him with an invaluable depth of knowledge and expertise in acting for insurers, builders, developers, construction industry consultants and owners corporations, from the provision of advice and contract drafting, to representation in various Courts and Tribunals.