Lismore City Council v Collins [2001] NSWLEC 81

Land and Environment Court of New South Wales

CITATION : Lismore City Council v Collins [2001] NSWLEC 81 revised - 30/04/2001 APPLICANT: Lismore City Council PARTIES : RESPONDENT: Collins

FILE NUMBER(S) : 40162 of 2000 CORAM: Bignold J KEY ISSUES: Costs :- in civil enforcement proceedings where substantive relief not resisted. LEGISLATION CITED: Local Government Act 1993, s 124 CASES CITED: DATES OF HEARING: 23 February 2001 EX TEMPORE JUDGMENT DATE : 02/23/2001

APPLICANT: Mr J M Atkin, Barrister SOLICITORS Walters LEGAL REPRESENTATIVES: RESPONDENT: Mr Collins in person SOLICITORS N/A

JUDGMENT:

IN THE LAND AND Matter No. 40162 of 2000 ENVIRONMENT COURT OF Coram: Bignold J. NEW SOUTH WALES 23 February 2001

LISMORE CITY COUNCIL

Applicant

v

COLLINS

Respondent

JUDGMENT

Bignold J:

1. This is a Class 4 proceeding in which the Council seeks mandatory orders in relation to a building, being a dwelling house owned and occupied by the Respondent at No 8 Stevenson Street Goonellabah, which building has been known for the past three or more years to be structurally unsound apparently by virtue of being erected upon land that had been filled in a manner not sufficiently stabilised to support the structure.

2. The Council has known about the state of the building since 1997, as has the owner, who has continuously occupied the dwelling as her home during the past decade including occupation of it in its known structurally unsound state for these past three or four years. The Council commenced the proceedings with obvious and understandable reluctance on 23 October 2000 after writing to the Respondent by its Solicitors on 25 August 2000 in which the history of the matter was canvassed. The Council expressed its understanding that the Respondent was in communication with the Department of Fair Trading in relation to the insurance claim she had brought against the builder and that she was experiencing delays in finalising that claim, but pointing out that Council's direct communications with the Department of Fair Trading suggested that the Department had approved funds in early June 2000, but expressing an understanding that there had been some delay in progressing the rectification works.