A builder's industry practice of not installing appliances until handover cannot be implied as a contractual term to establish practical completion where the practice is not shown to be known to home owners and would contradict the express contractual definition of practical completion. A trial judge's preference for one expert's evidence over another is limited to the matters on which that expert actually gave evidence. Where an unrepresented litigant's evidence is rejected, the trial judge has a duty to explain the problems with the evidence and the means available for rectification, and failure to do so may constitute a miscarriage justifying a new trial on damages. Bryson JA dissented on the remittal, holding that self-representation should not be turned into a procedural advantage.
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