The Court held that a judgment creditor under the Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 2009 (Tas) retains a strong prima facie case supporting a priority notice under s 134 of the Land Titles Act 1980 (Tas) even where the judgment sum has been paid into court pursuant to consent orders staying execution, because the legislative purpose of 'pay now, argue later' is not fulfilled where the money has not actually reached the builder. The Court split the outcome across 15 titles: priority notices were removed from seven lots with imminent completion dates where the balance of convenience favoured the developer, but maintained on eight lots without imminent sales where the balance favoured the builder-judgment creditor. The Court also indicated that if the priority notices remain on those eight titles, the payment into court should be released back to the applicant developer.
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