The Court dismissed the defendant's application for a stay of enforcement of judgments entered under the Building & Construction Industry Security of Payments Act 1999 (NSW), holding that the defendant failed to establish irreparable prejudice, that the defendant's procedural delays in filing its cross-claim and complying with court timetables were disentitling discretionary factors, and that the expert evidence supporting the cross-claim was significantly qualified and unreliable as a basis for asserting a prima facie meritorious cross-claim. The Court also held that the general risk of insolvency in the building industry, without more, does not constitute irreparable prejudice sufficient to warrant a stay, particularly where statutory insurance exists against such risks, and that granting a stay would frustrate the Parliamentary intention behind the Act.
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