Mrocki & Anor v Mountview Prestige Homes Pty Ltd

[2011] VSCA 73

Victorian Court of Appeal

Built by Barristers,
For Australian Law.

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Interrogate

Catchwords

1. Contract
2. › Construction of contract
3. › Building contract
4. › Modified HIA 'cost plus' contract
5. › Meaning of 'Building Works'
6. › Whether builder's obligations confined to contract management services or extended to construction of apartments
7. › Whether surrounding circumstances admissible in absence of ambiguity
1. Building and Construction
2. › Domestic building contracts
3. › Statutory warranties
4. › Scope of builder's warranties under clause reflecting s 8 of Domestic Building Contracts Act 1995 (Vic)
5. › Whether warranties applied only to contract management services
6. › Domestic Building Contracts Act 1995 (Vic), s 8
1. Appeal
2. › Leave to appeal
3. › Application for leave to appeal from Trial Division to Court of Appeal
4. › Whether decision attended with sufficient doubt
5. › Whether substantial injustice would result
6. › Supreme Court Act 1986 (Vic), s 17A(3A)(a)

Quick Take

A modified HIA 'cost plus' building contract where the owner pays all tradespeople directly and the builder receives only a fixed fee does not necessarily confine the builder's obligations to contract management services. The scope of 'Building Works' and the builder's statutory warranties under such a contract remain to be determined on appeal. Post-contractual conduct remains inadmissible in the interpretation of a written contract.