VIC Contract question with early demolition of house!

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Mike Love

Well-Known Member
25 June 2014
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3
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Hi,
We employed a company to demolish an old house for us.
They did the job but came a day earlier than they stated and destroyed a 70 year old gargoyle dragon that was on the top of the house, potentially worth a couple of thousand dollars.

So they claim that their standard contract that we signed gives them "ownership" or "control" of the entire property immediately.
we don't have an issue with that, BUT...

We have written permission from the company stating that:
1. we could take any items from the house that we liked before demolition
2. that they would start demolition on the following Wednesday

So I went to the house on the day before demolition to retrieve my dragon statue, and found that they had already entered the property and smashed the dragon along with the roof tiles. (I found broken dragon)

So I am assuming that the written permission along with the start date gives me the right to expect my dragon to be intact up until the start date.

I gave them 2 options:
1. I pay the balance minus $2,000 which we argue over in court
2. They alter the invoice now and deduct $500 and we settle with that.

They refused, saying that they will take me to court and also claim costs from me.

Questions:
1. Who do you think will win if it goes to court?
2. Which court would they take me to over $2,000?
3. Can they also claim costs from me if they win? (I know VCAT doesn't allow lawyers or costs to be added)

Thanks for any advice..
Mike
 

Rob Legat - SBPL

Lawyer
LawConnect (LawTap) Verified
16 February 2017
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Gold Coast, Queensland
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I would have an issue with them having "ownership" or "control" over the entire property immediately - that's excessive unless they can give a sound basis to support their contention.

In terms of your questions:
1. I think you're on safer ground. They've stipulated in writing to the effect that you have up until the beginning of Wednesday to remove items, and you arrived on Tuesday to do so. This runs along the lines of what is called 'contractual estoppel'. You've relied on the terms of the contract, and suffered loss through no fault of your own.
2. VCAT is the probably the appropriate venue, but I know they can be funny about their jurisdiction. I think you'd probably fit in their consumer/trader section.
3. If it's in VCAT, exceedingly unlikely apart from filing fees. That's if they win, however.