LIFESTYLE RETIREMENT PROJECTS NO 2 PTY LTD V PARISI HOMES PTY LTD
[2005] NSWSC 705
Supreme Court of New South Wales – 11 July 2005
FACTS
Lifestyle Retirement Projects No 2 Pty Ltd (‘Lifestyle’) entered into a construction contract with Parisi Homes Pty Ltd (Parisi’). Parisi served a Payment Claim under section 13 of the Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 1999 (NSW) (‘the Act’) on Lifestyle, who responded with a Payment Schedule under section 14 of the Act. The matter was referred to Adjudication; the Adjudicator determining that Lifestyle was to pay Parisi $151,000.00.
Parisi then served a statutory demand for that sum. Lifestyle commenced proceedings to set aside the statutory demand on the basis that there was a bona fide dispute as to the existence of the debt, that is, a dispute whether or not the adjudicator’s determination is void.
Lifestyle submitted that the Payment Claim was not served within the time required by section 13(4) of the Act. Section 13(4) of the Act relevantly provides that a payment claim may be served only within (a) the period determined by or in accordance with the terms of the construction contract, or (b) the period of 12 months after the construction work to which the claim relates was last carried out.
ISSUE
Whether the compliance with section 13(4) of the Act is grounds for a bona fide dispute as to the existence of the debt.
FINDING
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