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[2018] NSWLEC 13
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The Owners âe" Strata Plan 6877 v 2 âe" 4 Lachlan Avenue Pty Ltd [ 2018] NSWLEC 13 (19 February 2018)
Last Updated: 6 March 2018
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Land and Environment Court
New South Wales
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Case Name:
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The Owners – Strata Plan 6877 v 2 – 4 Lachlan Avenue Pty
Ltd
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Medium Neutral Citation:
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Hearing Date(s):
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9 February 2018
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Decision Date:
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19 February 2018
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Jurisdiction:
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Class 3
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Before:
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Molesworth AJ
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Decision:
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See orders at [45] and [46]. Order made to join dissenting owner; order
made to join supporting purchaser/developer, order made to amend name of
Applicant and
consequently the title of the proceedings; order for costs
considered; and other directions.
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Catchwords:
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PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE – whether to join dissenting owner and/or
supporting purchaser/developer to proceedings – designation
of respondents
– name of Applicant and title of proceedings amended – name of
dissenting owner amended – whether
conciliation under s 34 of the Land and
Environment Court Act 1979 applicable.
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Legislation Cited:
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Category:
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Procedural and other rulings
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Parties:
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The Owners – Strata Plan 6877 (Applicant) 2 – 4 Lachlan
Avenue Pty Ltd ACN 600 655 156 (Respondent (Dissenting Owner)) GSA Australia
Acquisition No. 2 Pty Ltd (ACN 616 364 400) (Respondent (Supporting
Purchaser))
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Representation:
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Counsel: Mr Scott Nash (Applicant) Mr Daniel Russell (Respondent
(Dissenting Owner)) Ms Janet McKelvey (Respondent (Supporting
Purchaser)) Solicitors: Phillippa Russell Lawyers
(Applicant) Chambers Russell Lawyers (Respondent (Dissenting
Owner)) Thomson Geer (Respondent (Supporting Purchaser))
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File Number(s):
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17/384700
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Publication Restriction:
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N/A
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JUDGMENT
Introduction
- By
a Class 3 Application filed 20 December 2017, proceedings were commenced by the
then described The Owners Corporation Strata Plan
6877 pursuant to s 179 of the
Strata Schemes Development Act 2015 (Development Act) to give effect to a
Strata Renewal Plan (the proceedings). In the instance of Strata Plan 6877 (SP
6877), it relates
to property located at 2 – 4 Lachlan Avenue, Macquarie
Park (Subject Property).
- The
owners of the lots in the strata scheme designated Strata Plan 6877 constitute a
body corporate pursuant to s 8 of the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015
(Management Act). The general term used to identify this body corporate is
owners corporation.
- The
documentation filed with the Court in support of the proposed Strata Renewal
Plan reveals that GSA Australia Acquisition No. 2
Pty Ltd (ACN 616 364 400) (GSA
Australia) entered into a heads of agreement to purchase the part entitlements
in SP 6877 on 26 September
2016. On 21 December 2016, GSA Australia entered into
option deeds to purchase the majority of the Lots in SP 6877 subject to
satisfaction
of a number of preconditions. On 11 May 2017, GSA Australia
submitted to the Applicant a strata renewal proposal for the collective
sale of
the SP 6877 Lots. In effect, the owners of lots comprising the owners
corporation were invited to consider a proposal that
the Subject Property be
sold so as to enable the site to be redeveloped. To achieve this objective a
strata renewal plan would be
required. The Strata Renewal Plan that was placed
before the owners corporation for consideration was dated 26 July 2017.
Seventy
five per cent or more of the owners comprising the owners corporation of
SP 6877, being the required level of support under the Development
Act, resolved
on 12 December 2017 to apply to the Court for an order giving effect to the
Strata Renewal Plan dated 26 July 2017.
- The
Class 3 Application will be heard and determined by the Court in due course once
all the preparatory requirements are completed.
The careful consideration of the
documentation filed with the Court, which is voluminous, will be considered by
the Court at that
stage. This judgment determines various interlocutory matters
brought before the Court via two Notices of Motion: the first brought
by a
dissenting owner who does not agree with the decision of the majority grouping
of owners of SP 6877; the second brought by the
prospective purchaser and
developer which, not surprisingly, supports the Strata Renewal Plan.
- There
are two dissenting owners with respect to the proposed collective sale of Strata
Plan 6877, they being 2 – 4 Lachlan Avenue
Pty Ltd ACN 600 665 156
(Lachlan), the owner of Lots 10 and 20, and Legpro 52 Pty Ltd ACN 611 229 960
(Legpro), the owner of Lot
17. Pursuant to s 180(1)(a) of the Development Act,
as a dissenting owner, Lachlan filed an objection with the Court on 12 January
2018. Legpro also filed an objection with the Court on 12 January 2018. As
required by par 24 of the Court’s Practice Note
– Strata Schemes
Development Proceedings (Practice Note), both objectors set out the grounds of
their objection, at least upon
the more superficial analysis required at this
interlocutory stage, “the matters of concern to the person in
s 182(1) of the
Development Act with which the Court needs to be satisfied
in order to make an order giving effect to the strata renewal plan”.
A
close analysis of these objections is not required for the interlocutory
applications before me, rather that analysis will occur
at the final
hearing.
- Of
the two dissenting owners, only one, Lachlan, has chosen to seek, by way of the
Notice of Motion before me, to be joined as a party
to the proceeding. Choosing
not to seek to become a party before the Court in relation to a strata renewal
plan is perfectly in order
as s 180(3) of the Development Act states that:
“A person who files an objection need not be a party in proceedings before
the court relating to the strata renewal plan”.
Motion to
join by Dissenting Owner
- As
said earlier, Lachlan’s application was brought by way of Notice of
Motion. The application was supported by an affidavit
of Stephen Abolakian,
affirmed 5 February 2018. Mr Abolakian is the sole director of Lachlan.
Paragraph 25 of the Court’s Practice
Note states that: “The notice
of motion is to be accompanied by an affidavit of the person explaining why the
person should
be joined as [a] party to the proceedings”.
- There
can be no doubt that the Development Act envisages that dissenting owners
may seek to join the proceedings. The use of the words “need not be
a party in proceedings” as found in s 180(3) is perhaps
a mild hope
expressed by Legislature that such dissenting owners will not feel the need to
join the proceedings, thereby, perhaps,
leading to a more expeditious
consideration and approval of strata renewal plans. Whether that surmising is
accurate or not, the
fact is the legislative scheme envisages dissenting owners
being permitted to become parties in such proceedings.
- What
then are the considerations which might be relevant to the Court in exercising
its discretion to agree to a dissenting owner
becoming a party? The
preconditions to joining – the lodging of an objection and then the
lodging of a Notice of Motion supported
by an affidavit explaining why the
person should be joined as a party – have been satisfied in the case of
Lachlan’s
application. However, what should the affidavit canvass as
reasons justifying joinder?
- In
circumstances where the procedure under s 179(2) of the Development Act requires
notice to be given to each of the identified intended
recipients (a) to (e), it
is logical that each such recipient is considered to potentially have a material
interest. The Court considers
that with respect to the joinder of parties, the
default position should be that the recipients of notice, considered to have a
material
interest in the Strata Renewal Plan, ought to be admitted as parties to
the proceedings if an appropriate application is made to
the Court setting out
their nexus and interests likely to be affected. Notification under s 179(2)
leads to an entitlement under
s 180(1) to file an objection to the Strata Plan
Renewal application. Despite the legislation envisaging the receipt of only
objections,
rather than submissions, the Court believes that it would be in the
interests of justice for all such persons identified in s 179(2),
as being
entitled to notice, to be allowed to join the proceedings as parties. However,
necessarily, joinder remains a matter for
the Court’s discretion.
- Subsection
181(6) unambiguously clarifies that the Court may join objectors, wherein it
states: “Any of the following persons
may be joined as a party to the
proceedings: (a) a person who has filed an objection to the application and
applies to be a party
to the proceedings”. So there can be no doubt that
the Court may join a person to the proceedings pursuant to (a), providing
they
have filed with the Court an objection to the Strata Renewal Plan application.
The notification provision in s 179(2) clearly
indicates that the persons
therein identified are likely to have a material interest in a Strata Renewal
Plan application. In such
circumstances, providing the Court is satisfied that
the person identified is an objector of the category specified, such as a
dissenting
owner, and clarifies the basis of the objection, which sensibly
would identify their interests which are likely to be affected,
in the interest
of justice I cannot envisage a reason why the Court might decline an application
by an objector, particularly a dissenting
owner or a person identified in s
179(1)(c) with an interest in the dissenting owner’s lot, to be joined as
a party.
- In
considering the position of a dissenting owner within an extant strata plan, it
is well to remember the fundamentals of justice
which is inherent in our
Nation’s system of law. At the Commonwealth level, in the Australian
Constitution, and at the State level in legislation such as the Land
Acquisition (Just Terms Compensation) Act 1991, it is acknowledged that the
potential extinguishment or removal of an interest in private property must only
occur on just terms with
compensation being appropriately and fairly determined.
Such a principle might be described as a pillar of our Australian justice
system. Clearly the Development Act sets out the legislative regime whereby
dissenting owners, who might potentially loose ownership
of their lot in an
extant strata plan, are fairly treated and receive just compensation. In
essence, that is the safeguard offered
the Legislature in requiring that only by
order of this Court can a Strata Renewal Plan be approved.
- In
the circumstances of the application of Lachlan, as a dissenting owner, having
considered the matters set out in the affidavit
accompanying its Notice of
Motion, I consider that, in the interests of justice and fairness, it ought to
be joined as a respondent
so that its submissions can be considered on matters
which are critically material to the question before the Court whether the
Strata
Renewal Plan ought to be given effect.
- For
the purposes of this judgment, I need not consider the position of the local
council, identified as being entitled to notice of
the Strata Renewal Plan under
s 179(2)(d), or the “any other person” that may, by direction of the
Court, receive notice
pursuant to s 179(2)(e), as potential parties in Strata
Renewal Plan application proceedings. Neither category of such persons has
an
application before me to consider, however I see no reason why the Court would
not see fit joining such persons to the proceedings
if they were to demonstrate,
to the Court’s satisfaction, that they have a material interest.
- In
the context of the foregoing, the Court considers that it is the interests of
fairness and justice that Lachlan be joined as a
respondent.
Motion to join by Supporting
Purchaser/Developer
- By
Notice of Motion dated 19 December and filed 20 December 2017, GSA Australia,
the prospective purchaser and developer of the Subject
Land and instigator of
the proposed Strata Renewal Plan, sought an order to be joined as an applicant.
Not surprisingly, not being
a contradictor wishing to oppose the
Applicant’s Class 3 Application, GSA Australia found itself in a threshold
dilemma in
identifying the appropriate description of its sought participation.
GSA Australia sought to be joined as an “applicant”,
whereas the
Development Act contemplates only an owners corporation being an applicant for
an order to approve a strata renewal plan.
The Court has concluded that it is
inappropriate that GSA Australia be joined as an “applicant”, due to
the scheme of
legislation clearly only envisaging an owners corporation bringing
an application under s 179. It is more appropriate to consider
GSA
Australia’s application being to join as a respondent, albeit as a
supporting respondent.
- GSA
Australia’s Notice of Motion was supported by an affidavit of Joanna Sing
Rou Ling affirmed 19 December 2017. The affidavit
confirms that GSA Australia is
the proposed purchaser and ultimate redeveloper of the Subject Property, stating
that it is the “purchaser”
for the purposes of Part 10 of the
Development Act. Sensibly following the lead provided by the Court’s
Practice Note, par
25, with respect to the requirements for joinder applications
filed by an objector, GSA Australia, in its supporting affidavit explained
the
rationale for its application to be joined. In summary, it is based on its
monetary investment in the subject matter of the proceedings,
specifically that
GSA will ultimately be the purchaser of the land and therefore responsible for
the payment of any compensation
determined by the Court in respect of the
collective sale following the approval of the Strata Renewal Plan.
- Section
180(1)(b) refers to the persons, apart from a dissenting owner, who may file an
objection to the application. The persons
are identified in
ss 179(2)(b)–(e) and they include, inter alia, a proposed purchaser
(s 179(2)(c)) and a proposed developer
(s 179(2)(d)). However, the
reference to filing an objection in the context of the instigating purchaser and
prospective ultimate
developer would seem to be an oxymoron. There is no doubt
that notice of an application for an order to give effect to a strata renewal
plan is required, by s 179(2), to be served on the proposed purchaser (if known)
and the proposed developer (if known), but it would
be surprising if such
persons would wish to oppose the plan.
- Following
the receipt of a notice of an application, if a responding person wishes to
object to such a scheme they must file their
objection with the Court within 21
days after notice of application is served on the person filing the objection.
Following the filing
of an objection, pursuant to s 181(6)(a) “a person
who has filed an objection to the application and applies to be a party
to the
proceedings” may be joined as a party to the proceedings.
- As
in the case of GSA Australia, some recipients of notice of an application will
not wish to object to the proposed strata renewal
plan. Obviously, proposed
purchasers and proposed developers would fall into
the nonobjector category. In such circumstances, the
Development Act
provides a pathway by which the non-objector category of person may be joined to
the proceedings. Section 181(6)(b)
provides the power by which the Court may
join other persons, without requiring that they first lodge an objection.
Accordingly,
if the Court considers that a supporting person, such as the
proposed purchaser or proposed developer, ought to be joined, then the
appropriate order is to be made under s 181(6)(b).
- As
said earlier, GSA Australia’s application to join the proceedings was made
by way of Notice of Motion. The order sought was
made pursuant to r 6.24 of the
Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005 (UCPRs). As this was the first such
application under the Development Act to join by a person supporting a proposed
strata renewal
scheme, GSA Australia was, proverbially, stepping into the
unknown. In a letter from the Court’s Registrar to the solicitors
for GSA
Australia dated 30 November 2017 (exhibited to the affidavit of Ms Ling),
reference was made, by way of general information,
to the fact that “if a
person who is not party to proceedings wishes to become a party, then he or she
can seek leave to be
joined to the proceedings under r 6.24 of the UCPRs by way
of Notice of Motion”. It is likely that this general information,
in the
absence of any established practice under the Development Act, most probably
influenced GSA Australia to seek the order that
it did in its Notice of
Motion.
- The
Registrar’s advice was perfectly correct and that power to join a party
pursuant to the UCPRs remains available, however
as the Court considers that s
181(6)(b) of the Development Act provides ample power to join, in the
circumstances of this case, it
is most probably preferable to make all related
orders, with respect to an application in relation to the Strata Renewal Plan,
under
the same legislative scheme, that is, the Development Act.
- In
the absence of guidance in the Development Act as to what a supporting
respondent might submit as being a basis for the Court to
agree to join them as
a respondent, the approach adopted by GSA Australia would appear to be both
sensible and adequate. It indicated
its material interests in the outcome of the
proceedings, in particular stressing the financial consequences for it should
the Court
order that effect be given to the Strata Renewal Plan. Currently the
Court’s Practice Note is also silent as to the relevant
matters that might
be addressed by a supporting respondent, as distinct from an objector. In these
circumstances, in exercising its
discretion under s 181(6)(b), the Court decided
that it had a sufficient basis to join GSA Australia as a respondent.
Appropriate identification of respondents with
differing positions
- In
circumstances where respondents in proceedings are more frequently contradictors
to applications brought by applicants and in the
specific context of the scheme
of the Development Act, in which the primary focus on a responding party is on
dissenting owners,
ensuring that they be notified, have an entitlement to object
and then have an opportunity to seek to be joined as respondent parties,
and not
suffer a cost burden due to their participation in the proceedings, the issue
arises how best to identify the position of
a supporting proposed purchaser or a
supporting proposed developer.
- The
Court has decided in this case to adopt a course whereby the dissenting owner in
the proceedings is identified as the Respondent
(Dissenting Owner), whilst the
supporting respondents, the proposed purchaser and the proposed developer (using
the language of s
179 of the Development Act), should be identified,
respectively, as the Respondent (Supporting Purchaser) and the Respondent
(Supporting
Developer). In the instance of this case where GSA Australia is one
and the same, being both the proposed purchaser and the ultimate
developer,
sense supports that just one descriptor be adopted and that that should be
Respondent (Supporting Purchaser). Given that
the purchase of the Subject Land
will precede the development of it, the first action should guide the adoption
of the appropriate
descriptor. The Court’s orders adopt these
descriptors.
Appropriate corporate name of the Applicant
- In
the course of the hearing it was submitted that the identification of the
Applicant by name “The Owners Corporation of Strata
Plan 6877” was
erroneous and that the proper course would be to identify it as “The
Owners – Strata Plan 6877”.
Although the term “owners
corporation” is used throughout the Development Act to identify the entity
empowered to apply
to the Court for an order to give effect to a strata renewal
plan, it is a working term rather the identification of the name of
the
requisite legal entity.
- In
the definitions section of the Development Act, s 4, the term
“owners corporation” is defined: “owners
corporation of a strata scheme means the owners corporation constituted under
the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 for the scheme”. One then
examines the Management Act and finds that in its definition, s 4, owners
corporation is defined
as follows: “owners corporation means
an owners corporation constituted under section 8 for a strata scheme”.
Section 8(1) then provides as follows:
“(1) The owners of the lots from time to time in a strata scheme
constitute a body corporate under the name “The Owners
– Strata Plan
No X” (X being the registered number of the strata scheme
relates)”.
- Accordingly,
the practice that has prevailed to date with s 179 proceedings involving
applications seeking an order from the Court
to give effect to a strata renewal
plan, wherein an applicant has described itself as, in the instance of this
case, “The Owners
Corporation of Strata Plan 6877”, should change to
more correctly adhere to the statutory scheme established by the
interrelationship
between the Management Act and the Development Act.
- Accordingly,
by order in these proceedings I have directed that the name of the Applicant is
to be amended to “The Owners –
Strata Plan No 6877” and that
the title of the proceedings henceforth is to reflect that
change.
Costs on Motion to join
- The
Respondent (Dissenting Owner) sought its costs on its Motion. The seeking of
costs should be considered in the context of s 188
of the Development Act which
states that the costs of a dissenting owner in relation to Class 3 applications
of this kind will be
costs to be covered by the Applicant. Specifically, s 188
states:
188 Costs
(1) Unless the court otherwise orders:
(a) the reasonable costs of
proceedings for an application for an order to give effect to a strata renewal
plan that are incurred
by a dissenting owner are payable by the owners
corporation, and
(b) the owners corporation cannot levy a
contribution for any part of the costs on a dissenting
owner.
(2) The regulations may prescribe other matters for or with respect to the
costs of proceedings for an application for an order
to give effect to a strata
renewal plan.
- In
the context of s 180(3) of the Development Act stating that a dissenting owner
need not become a party, it might be argued that
a dissenting owner ought to be
satisfied that its concerns will be satisfactorily addressed when it files an
objection pursuant to
ss 180(1) and (2). Conceivably it might be argued that by
joining a dissenting owner to the proceedings, the costs of the proceedings
would be likely to commensurately, and unnecessarily, increase. It might then be
argued that such additional costs, specifically
of the dissenting owner, should
be considered to be unreasonable. In the proceedings before me, no party argued
that costs would
be unacceptably increased by the joinder of Lachlan, nor was it
argued that they should not be entitled to its costs.
- Clearly,
with the commencing words in s 188 “Unless the court otherwise
orders”, the Court has a discretion with respect
to the award of costs. In
the circumstances before me, I could see no reason why the costs of Lachlan
incurred in bringing its Notice
of Motion to join should not be costs covered by
the Applicant owners corporation. I interpret s 188 as confirming that the
default
position with Class 3 Applications of the kind before the Court in these
proceedings is that the costs of dissenting owners should
be met by owners
corporation applicants, providing, of course, that such costs are reasonable. In
circumstances where it is clearly
envisaged that a dissenting owner may be
joined as a party to the proceedings, I cannot identify a reason why the costs
of joining
a dissenting owner ought not be covered by an applicant.
- So
in relation to the Respondent (Dissenting Owner) in this case I believe that it
should be entitled to its costs on the Motion.
The appropriate order is that the
“costs of the dissenting owner be costs in the cause”, with such
order being applied
in accordance with s 188 of the Development Act.
- The
Respondent (Supporting Purchaser) did not seek an order for its costs. Although
it is not necessary for me to consider hypothetical
circumstances when a
supporting purchaser or a supporting developer might seek their costs, I observe
that, due to its silence, I
am of the tentative view that the scheme of the
Development Act is such that the costs of other parties, particularly supporting
parties, are not contemplated as being properly met by an applicant owners
corporation. Clearly, the statutory scheme is to only
contemplate a dissenting
owner not being subjected to an expense burden by reason of a strata renewal
plan being considered. Although
the Development Act envisages in s 181(6) that
other persons might be joined to the proceedings by order of the Court, there is
no
provision in the Act that addresses the costs burden of these other parties.
If it were contemplated that the costs of other parties
in the proceedings ought
to be paid by the owners corporation, one would expect to find an appropriate
provision in s 188. This section
is silent on the point. Further, given that s
188(2) provides that: “The regulations may prescribe other matters for or
with
respect to the costs of the proceedings for an application for an order to
give effect to a strata renewal plan”, it is instructive
that the
regulations, being the Strata Schemes Development Regulation 2016, are
also silent on the question whether a supporting party is entitled to its
costs.
- Reflecting
on the fact that supporting purchasers and supporting developers are, in effect,
the initiators of strata renewal plans
for strata schemes leading to owners
corporations applying to the Court for an order to give effect to such a
“renewed”
scheme, purchasers and developers are clearly not in a
similar position to contradictor responders, such as a dissenting owner. It
is
to be expected that purchasers and developers will be promoting and then
pursuing a strata renewal plan for commercial or financial
gain. Accordingly,
although in this instance the Court was not requested to consider the costs
implication of the Respondent (Supporting
Purchaser) joining the proceedings,
there would seem to be logic in accepting that such a joined supporting party
should cover their
own costs of their participation in the proceedings,
including the initiating application by way of Notice of Motion to join.
- In
the circumstances of this case, I have determined to make no order as to costs
in relation to the Respondent (Supporting Purchaser)’s
application and
involvement.
Conciliation under s 34
- The
parties sought an order that the proceedings be referred to conciliation under s
34 Land and Environment Court Act 1979 (LEC Act) in accordance with s
181(2) of the Development Act.
- Initially,
there was an inadvertent conflict set up between s 181(3) of the Development Act
and s 34(3) of the LEC Act. Section 181(3)
of the Development Act directed that:
“The court must hear, or continue to hear, proceedings whether or not the
parties reach
an agreement at mediation or a conciliation conference”. The
conflict emerged when s 181(3) was set against s 34(3) of LEC
Act which directed
that:
34 Conciliation conferences
...
(3) If, either at or after a conciliation conference, agreement
is reached between the parties or their representatives as to the
terms of a
decision in the proceedings that would be acceptable to the parties (being a
decision that the Court could have made in
the proper exercise of its
functions), the Commissioner:
(a) must dispose of the proceedings in accordance with the
decision, and
(b) must set out in writing the terms of the
decision.
- The
Legislature was alerted to the issue and passed the Justice Legislation
Amendment Bill (No 2) 2017 which inserted s 181(3A) into the Development
Act. Section 181(3A) states as follows:
(3A) Subsection (3) has effect despite section 34(3)(a) of the
Land and Environment Court Act 1979.
This inserted provision came into operation on 25 September
2017.
- The
Attorney General in his Second Reading Speech on the Justice Legislation
Amendment Bill (No 2) 2017, delivered 14 September 2017, explained the
rationale for the amendment to s 181 of the Development
Act:
Schedule 1.23 addresses an inconsistency between section 181(3) of the Strata
Schemes Development Act 2015 and section 34 of the Land and Environment
Court Act 1979. Section 181(3) of the Strata Schemes Development Act
2015 requires the court to continue to hear proceedings whether or not
parties reach an agreement at a conciliation conference. Conciliation
conference
is defined under section 181(7) to mean a conciliation conference under section
34 of the Land and Environment Court Act. However, section 34(3) of the
Land and Environment Court Act states that the commissioner must dispose
of the proceedings if an agreement is reached at a conciliation conference
– that
is, those disposals amount to a finalisation of the proceedings
such that the court may not hear or continue to hear the proceedings.
The
proposed amendment will address this inconsistency, which is currently being
addressed through administrative arrangements.
- With
the former inconsistency between the Development Act and the LEC Act addressed
by the legislative amendment, the parties’
request for conciliation or, in
default, mediation was perfectly in order and consistent with the Court’s
Practice Note. Accordingly,
the Court has made the order requested. The effect
of the order is that the parties will participate in conciliation, or mediation,
and whether or not all issues between them are resolved, the Class 3 Application
will return to the Court for final determination.
Orders
- At
the conclusion of the hearing the Court indicated to the parties that it was
satisfied that it should make the orders regarding
joinder sought in the two
Notices of Motion, with the modifications indicated at the conclusion of the
hearing. With respect to the
required case management orders which should
follow, the Court requested the parties to confer and then prepare, preferably
by consent,
a set of consequential orders for the Court to consider and make in
chambers.
- Subsequent
to the hearing, it became apparent to the parties that additional orders would
be required to, first, address the proper
title of the Applicant to bring it
into consistency with s 8(1) of the Management Act which, as explained earlier,
contains a provision
regarding the proper title of an owners corporation.
- Secondly,
it was noticed that in the Notice of Motion brought by Lachlan, now the
Respondent (Dissenting Owner), there was a variation
in the Motion referring to
its corporate name, such that it would be necessary for the Court to vacate the
order made on 9 February
joining Lachlan and in lieu thereof make a replacement
order containing the correct corporate name together with its ACN registration
number.
- The
Orders made on 9 February were as follows:
- (1) In respect
of the Notice of Motion of Lachlan Avenue Pty Ltd, the Court
orders:
- (a) That the
Applicant on the Motion be joined as a Respondent (Dissenting Owner) to the
proceedings.
- (b) That the
costs of the Applicant on the Motion be costs in the cause.
- (2) In respect
of the Notice of Motion of GSA Australia Acquisition No. 2 Pty Ltd (ACN 616 364
400), the Court orders:
- The
Orders made in chambers on 13 February were as follows:
- (1) The name of
the Applicant is amended to ‘The Owners – Strata Plan No 6877’
and the title of the proceedings
henceforth is to reflect that change.
- (2) 2 – 4
Lachlan Avenue Pty Ltd (ACN 600 655 156) is joined as a Respondent (Dissenting
Owner) to the proceedings.
- (3) Costs of
the motion for joinder by 2 – 4 Lachlan Avenue Pty Ltd (ACN 600 655 156)
are costs in the cause.
- (4) The
proceedings are referred to conciliation under section 34 of the Land and
Environment Court Act 1979 (NSW) on a date to be determined by the
Registrar. If no dates are available prior to 30 June 2018 then the parties are
to participate
in a mediation pursuant to section 26 of the
Civil Procedure Act 2005 (NSW) on a date no later than 30 June
2018.
- (5) By 23 April
2018 the Respondent (Dissenting Owner) is to file in the Court and serve on the
Applicant and other Respondent (Supporting
Purchaser) a statement of facts and
contentions identifying and giving particulars of:
- (a) the grounds
on which the Respondent (Dissenting Owner) objects to the application for an
order to give effect to the strata renewal
plan;
- (b) the matters
of concern to the Respondent (Dissenting Owner) in s 182(1) of the Strata
Schemes Development Act; and
- (c) the order
or orders that the Respondent (Dissenting Owner) contends that the Court should
make including to vary the strata renewal
plan.
- (6) By 14 May
2018, the Applicant and Respondent (Supporting Purchaser) are to file in the
Court and serve on each respondent any
statement of facts and contentions in
reply.
- (7) The
proceedings are listed for a second directions hearing on 6 July 2018.
- (8) The parties
are to promptly notify the Court if there is any material slippage in the
timetable and if appropriate relist the
matter.
- (9) Liberty to
restore on 3 working days’ notice.
**********
Amendments
20 February 2018 - Order four amended to "Civil Procedure Act 2005" NOT
"Criminal Procedure Act 2005".
21 February 2018 - typographical error
06 March 2018 - typographical error in title
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URL: http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/nsw/NSWLEC/2018/13.html