ALDOGA ALUMINIUM PTY LTD V DE SILVA STARR PTY LTD [2005] NSWSC 284
Supreme Court of New South Wales – 1 April 2005
FACTS
Aldoga Aluminium Pty Ltd (‘Aldoga’) and De Silva Starr Pty Ltd (‘De Silva’) entered into an oral contract for the design and fit-out of new office premises for Aldoga. De Silva served a Payment Claim under the Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 1999 (NSW) (‘the Act’) and Aldoga did not serve a Payment Schedule in response within the time specified.
De Silva then issued a statutory demand for debt in the amount of $31,084.18 under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth). Aldoga asserted that there was a genuine dispute as the existence of the alleged debt and therefore the statutory demand should be set aside. Aldoga contended that there was no oral contract for the fit-out of the office, rather there was an agreement whereby Aldoga was to prepare plans sufficient for the purpose of obtaining development approval for the fit-out. De Silva contended that even if the evidence was sufficient to support the existence of a genuine dispute as alleged, that dispute can now no longer be raised as it is precluded by sections 14 and 15 of the Act which creates a statutory debt.
ISSUE
Whether Aldoga was precluded from raising a genuine dispute as the existence of a debt.
FINDING
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