Pacific General Securities Ltd & Anor v Soliman & Sons Pty Ltd & Ors [2006] NSWSC 13

Reported Decision : 196 FLR 388

New South Wales Supreme Court

CITATION : Pacific General Securities Ltd & Anor v Soliman & Sons Pty Ltd & Ors [2006] NSWSC 13

HEARING DATE(S) : 12/12/05

JUDGMENT DATE : 31 January 2006

JUDGMENT OF : Brereton J

DECISION : Declare determination void, order that defendant builder be restrained from requesting, and nominating authority from issuing, adjudication certificate.

CATCHWORDS : CONTRACTS – BUILDING, ENGINEERING AND RELATED CONTRACTS – Resolution of disputes – Adjudication – Determinations – Judicial review – minimum requirements for validity – whether 12-month limit for serving a claim is a basic and essential requirement non-compliance with which results in invalidity – held it is not – whether payment claim made within 12 months of performance of the latest of the construction work to which it related – whether specificity in payment claim is basic and essential requirement non-compliance with which results in invalidity – held it is not – whether payment claim sufficiently specified the construction work in respect of which it was made - whether service on receiver of respondent required – held it is not – whether adjudicator failed to have regard to relevant submissions – where submissions were outside ambit of payment schedule - held adjudicator rightly did not have regard to submissions – whether adjudicator entitled to determine progress payment at amount claimed upon rejection of respondent's material – held such approach is jurisdictional error or failure of basic and essential requirement of validity as to minimum content of adjudication – whether further prosecution of adjudication application should be restrained as abuse of process – where proceedings at law on foot but not advanced – held no basis for stay. CORPORATIONS – Proceedings – Service – whether service on receiver of corporation required – effect of appointment of receiver on means of service – service on sole director sufficient service on company.