The revamped Bathers' Pavilion.
The building company behind the North Beach Bathers' Pavilion refurbishment and the upcoming Crown Street Mall works has won a NSW Supreme Court case against a subcontractor that claimed it should have receive a "progress payment" for extra earthworks it carried out as part of the bathers' pavilion project.
Lahey Constructions hired Campbelltown-based firm Trident Civil Contracting in April last year to carry out earthworks at the site, the two companies agreeing to a lump sum payment of $591,831 for the work.
However, Trident claimed it was asked to complete more earthworks during excavation for the site's retaining wall than originally agreed upon, and believed Lahey should pay an instalment of $71,000 for the work.
Lahey contested the payment, saying Trident had not complied with the conditions in its contract that dealt with such variations and, therefore, wasn't entitled to seek early payment of the funds.
An adjudicator was brought in to settle the dispute. However, when he determined in favour of Trident, Lahey lodged an appeal in the Supreme Court.
At the conclusion of the two-day hearing, Justice James Stevenson declared the adjudicator's decision void after determining he had failed to take into account the terms of the contract between Lahey and Trident.
Lahey finished refurbishing the 75-year-old bathers' pavilion in September.
Lahey was last month awarded an $11.5 million contract for the Crown Street Mall upgrade.