Tyneside Property Management Pty Ltd & Ors v Hammersmith Management Pty Ltd & Ors [2011] NSWSC 30

Supreme Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Tyneside Property Management Pty Ltd & Ors v Hammersmith Management Pty Ltd & Ors [2011] NSWSC 30 Hearing dates: Tuesday 8 February 2011 Decision date: 08 February 2011 Jurisdiction: Equity Division - Corporations List Before: Brereton J Decision: Affidavit of witness admissible, subject to matters of form, insofar as it describes how the contract would have been performed. Affidavit of witness inadmissible insofar as it relates to costs of completing contract and assumptions on which costs of completing contract are based. Catchwords: EVIDENCE - property developer's intentions and plans as to how would have performed a contract had contract not been repudiated - not excluded by opinion rule - relevant and admissible as to course contract would have taken.

EVIDENCE - opinion evidence - whether property developer can give expert evidence of prospective lot yield - held: not within specialised knowledge of a property developer.

EVIDENCE - opinion evidence - evidence of costs of performing contract had contract not been repudiated - evidence of property developer as to costs of performance - held: evidence from customers of people with specialised knowledge in trades or professions not specialised knowledge.

EVIDENCE - opinion evidence - evidence of costs of performing contract had contract not been repudiated computed by extrapolating from costs previously incurred - held: not specialised knowledge as within the province of any reasonably intelligent person. Category: Procedural and other rulings Parties: Tyneside Property Management Pty Limited (First Plaintiff) Namlot Nominees Pty Limited (Second Plaintiff) Roy Frederick Haggis (Third Plaintiff) Hammersmith Management Pty Limited (First Defendant) Roche Group Pty Limited (Second Defendant) John Oliver (Third Defendant) Tasmanian Prosperity Investment Pty Limited (Fourth Defendant) Bluegrass Nominees Pty Limited (Fifth Defendant) Nathan Oliver (Sixth Defendant) Frederick James Boswell (Seventh Defendant) Representation: Counsel: D.A. Smallbone (Plaintiffs) D.P. O'Connor (Plaintiffs) David L. Williams SC (Defendants) Scott Goodman (Defendants) Solicitors: Moray Agnew (Plaintiffs) Clayton Utz (Defendants) File Number(s): 2003/83732