Florence Chen appeared for the First Respondent, instructed by McInnes Wilson Lawyers.
This case involved a challenge by an unincorporated joint venture (trading as CPB BAM Ghella UGL Joint Venture) to the decision of an adjudicator that a payment schedule failed to comply with the requirements set out in s 69(c) of the Building Industry Fairness Act 2017 (Qld) (BIF Act), on the basis of jurisdictional error. The Applicant sought the adjudication decision be set aside or declared void, and that MSS repay the joint venture (with interest). The Court considered the primary question of whether the payment schedule issued by the joint venture was in fact a valid payment schedule for the purposes of the BIF Act.
The Court held that the total amounts the joint venture assessed as payable corresponded with the amounts in the “Certified this Month” section of Schedule 2 of the payment schedule, thus constituting an adequate explanation of its liability calculation. The application was granted, on the basis that the response provided by the joint venture to the payment claim in the payment schedule met the requirements of s 69(c) of the BIF Act. The parties will be heard as to the orders and costs.
The judgment can be read by clicking here
