Mosman Municipal Council v Jackson [2005] NSWLEC 201

Land and Environment Court of New South Wales

CITATION : Mosman Municipal Council v Jackson [2005] NSWLEC 201

Mosman Municipal Council (Appl) PARTIES : James Murray Jackson (Resp)

FILE NUMBER(S) : 40603 of 2003

CORAM: McClellan CJ

Contempt :- Failure to comply with orders requiring the removal of materials from the property KEY ISSUES: Respondent misunderstood terms of order A further period to comply with orders allowed

DATES OF HEARING: 16 March 2005 EX TEMPORE JUDGMENT DATE : 03/16/2005

S Duggan (Appl) Pike Pike & Fenwick (Sol - Appl) LEGAL REPRESENTATIVES:

In person (Resp)

JUDGMENT: THE LAND AND ENVIRONMENT COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES

McCLELLAN J

WEDNESDAY 16 MARCH 2005

40603/03 MOSMAN MUNICIPAL COUNCIL v JACKSON

JUDGMENT 1 HIS HONOUR: This matter comes before me on the council's motion that the respondent be found guilty of and punished for contempt. The contempt alleged arises from orders which were made by consent by a judge of this Court on 20 November 2003. Eleven operative orders were made on that occasion and the council now submits that the evidence discloses that the respondent has failed to comply with order 6(c), order 7(a), order 7(b) and order 10(a). There is little dispute about the facts and there is before me a series of photographs which indicate the present condition of the respondent's premises. 2 The difficulty between the parties seems to arise from a belief by the respondent that the orders which were made did not require him to remove combustible material from an area of his property to the rear of the laundry adjacent to the garage and between those two facilities and the relevant side and rear boundary fences. That area of the property is in the south western corner and it is accepted that there is stored in that area a variety of items of combustible material. A significant quantity of timber which is also combustible is stored on the roof of the garage. 3 The relevant orders are as follows: "6. The respondent shall: (c) remove all combustible material from the rear yard of the premises except for: