McNab Building Services Pty Ltd v Demex Pty Ltd [2022] NSWSC 1441

McNab Building Services Pty Ltd v Demex Pty Ltd [2022] NSWSC 1441

The adjudicator denied McNab procedural fairness by adopting and applying conversion factors for critical quantities without exposing the proposed approach or its basis to the parties for comment or submissions. This was a material breach because it underpinned the key calculations and may have affected the outcome, vitiating the whole determination.

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
24 October 2022
Procedural Posture
Challenge to Adjudication Determination Under Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 1999 (nsw) / Final Judgment After Hearing
Outcome
Plaintiff succeeds; adjudication determination found void due to denial of procedural fairness.
Legal Topics
['adjudication' 'natural Justice' 'procedural Fairness' 'jurisdictional Error' 'building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 1999 (nsw)']
['building and Construction' 'administrative Law' 'procedural Fairness'] ['adjudication' 'natural Justice' 'procedural Fairness' 'jurisdictional Error' 'building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 1999 (nsw)']

Case Brief

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Procedural Posture

Challenge to Adjudication Determination Under Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 1999 (nsw) / Final Judgment After Hearing

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ['Whether the adjudicator denied procedural fairness by applying conversion factors not raised by the parties or exposed to submissions' 'Whether the adjudicator made a jurisdictional error by taking into account matters not identified or addressed by either party' 'Whether the decision should be quashed due to breach of procedural fairness']

Ratio Decidendi

The adjudicator denied McNab procedural fairness by adopting and applying conversion factors for critical quantities without exposing the proposed approach or its basis to the parties for comment or submissions. This was a material breach because it underpinned the key calculations and may have affected the outcome, vitiating the whole determination.

Court Disposition

Plaintiff succeeds; adjudication determination found void due to denial of procedural fairness.

Orders

  • ['Parties to bring in agreed short minutes of order to give effect to judgment.']