Brookfield Multiplex Ltd v Owners Corporation Strata Plan 61288 [2014] HCA 36 (8 October 2014)

Negligence – Duty of care – Pure economic loss – Strata-titled apartment complex constructed pursuant to contract between builder and developer – Apartments sold pursuant to standard form contract of sale – Contracts conferred rights to have defects remedied – Latent defects in common property – Owners corporation for strata scheme claimed damages from builder for pure economic loss – Whether builder owed owners corporation a duty of care – Relevance of inquiry into whether builder owed anterior duty of care to developer.

Words and phrases – “assumption of responsibility”, “common property”, “disconformity of obligations”, “proximity”, “pure economic loss”, “reliance”, “vulnerability”

http://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/cases/cth/HCA/2014/36.html