BROADHURST v WILLIAMS [1991] NSWCA 33

BROADHURST v WILLIAMS

SUPREME COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES COURT OF APPEAL

SAMUELS AP, CLARKE and HANDLEY JJA 1 October 1991, 1 October 1991

[1991] NSWCA 33

BUILDING WORK — SCOTT SCHEDULE — RECTIFICATION COSTS — EVIDENCE

Clarke JA This is an appeal from a judgment of his Honour Judge Craigie delivered on 10 June 1988.

The subject matter of the proceedings before his Honour was a building owned by the defendant, the respondent here, and in respect of which certain works were performed by the plaintiff, who is the appellant here. The amount in issue was relatively small, as evidenced by his Honour's judgment, the sum of $15,623.

Notwithstanding the case took at least four days and when judgment had been delivered an appeal was lodged by the plaintiff against whom the judgment had been ordered. I am bound to say that it is an unhappy situation and it is a case in which the legal costs, almost certainly, will exceed the amount of any judgment recovered. It is to be regretted the parties faced with this situation could not resolve their differences.

Be that as it may the appeal has proceeded before this court and it is necessary to deal with the two grounds of appeal which were presented by Mr Callaghan on behalf of the appellant with his usual skill and complete candour.

The real issues before the trial judge concerned a number of items in the Scott Schedule which was filed and which contained, in all, twenty items. His Honour found for the appellant in relation to items 1, 7, 9 and 10, and, having given his reasons for doing that, declined to allow the respondent claimed costs of rectification of the suggested defects. That finding resolved, I think, two of the substantive issues before his Honour. The third concerned item 16, which read:

"Construct footings for extension in compliance with relevant codes and in a proper and workmanlike manner."