Law and Legal Issues
Part A: Scenario one
In this scenario, it is clear that Mr and Mrs Richards did not enter into any legal agreement with Mystyle Building Ground but instead bought the house from a developer, JJJ &A Nominees Pty Ltd. Therefore, Mr Drakos and Mr Karavisili under Mystyle Building Group are not liable to hear any claim forwarded to them by Mr and Mrs Richards. As such, Mr and Mrs Richard should approach Mr Drakos and Mr Karavisili through JJJ &A Nominees Pty Ltd as the company’s directors whom they signed a legal sale agreement with during the purchase of the house (Adhikari et al. 2018). Even though Mr and Mrs Richards can address their claim to JJJ &A Nominees Pty Ltd, they are limited to for compensation.
According to Australian law on the exchange of contracts, when an agreement for the sale of a house or property has been reached, the buyer should arrange to perform an inspection of the structure to authentic whether the specifications stated in the sale agreement matches with the physical condition of the house. Upon inspecting, the purchase shall arrange to pay the agreed amount if the buyer’s expert reports confirm that the physical condition of the house match with the specifications stated in the sale agreement (Chand, 2017). As well, the seller of the property must disclose relevant and authentic information which can help the buyer of the property to make the right decisions. As such, if any party fails to play legal responsibility during the sale, then they shall be held liable for any damages incurred. However, in this scenario, Mr and Mrs Richards signed the sale agreement without inviting an expert to inspect the property before the purchase, which is a sign of negligence; thus, they are held liable for the damages.
Since there was a limitation clause between JJJ &A Nominees Pty Ltd and Mystyle Building Ground of 12 months after the substantial completion and transfer of ownership, under such situation, the existence limitation clause limits Mystyle Building Ground from any liability since the period had elapsed. Usually, a limitation clause makes an entity not held responsible for any damage beyond the agreed periods (Chand, 2017). Therefore, Mr and Mrs Richards should meet the expenses need to renovate the house because the defect is considered unknown to Mystyle Building Ground according to the ownership agreement the company signed with JJJ &A Nominees Pty Ltd. However, Mr and Mrs Richards can take legal action against JJJ &A Nominees Pty Ltd for not disclosing all information about the company.
Scenario Two
In this scenario, Mr Drakos is not held liable to pay for the defect because he and his partner should be jointly responsible for any damages. Mr Karavisili has been declared bankrupt; hence he is not authorized by the Australian law to enter into any legal agreement with any entity or person until his bankruptcy status is cleared. Since the law does not allow Mr Drakos to make any decision for Mystyle Building Ground on his own, he should not be liable to meet the defects of the property (Adhikari et al. 2018). As such, Mr and Mrs Richards should correct the fault on their own according to the provision of the limitation clause.
Scenario 3
In this scenario, the contract between Mr and Mrs Richards with Mystyle Building Group ceases to be valid because both Mr Drakos and Mr Karavisili who are the key stakeholders of the company are not in a capacity to meet their financial needs. Usually, when a partner of any legal entity is declared bankrupt, he or she should not enter into any business agreement that can lead to a breach of contract (Adhikari et al. 2018). Therefore, in this scenario where both Mr Drakos and Mr Karavisili are declared bankrupt, Mr and Mrs Richards should settle the cost of renovating the house.
Part B
In a case where Mystyle Building Group accepts the claim presented by Mr and Mrs Richards and agree to rectify the condition of the house, the company will be obligated to meet all the required standard of an ordinary house with period value. When Mystyle Building Group agrees to accept this claim infers that the company should comply with all legal requirements of the agreement. In doing so, Mr and Mrs Richards should ensure that Mr Drakos and Mr Karavisili meet the 2008 Australian Standards for Masonry Units that require any building both for commercial and residential purposes to meet sufficient durability requirement to perform the required purpose or function over a specific period of a finished structure (Adhikari et al. 2018). But this must be achieved without deteriorating the action of environmental condition.
Under this situation, the Mystyle Building Group will be obligated to rectify the condition of the house to ensure meet the requirements of 2008 Australian Standards for Masonry Units. In doing so, Mystyle Building Group should not put conditions for rectifying the home but should ensure that risk stated in the expert analysis form is considered when renovating the house (Adhikari et al. 2018). Additionally, Mr and Mrs Richards should ensure that specification stated in the purchase contract are well addressed to meet 2008 Australian Standards for Masonry Units guidelines.
According to Australian law on an exchange of contracts, an agreement for the sale of a property is a binding contract that must observe all aspects or elements listed. As such, both parties under the agreement must comply with all requirement failure to which the person breaching the contract should be held liable for the damages caused. Therefore, when Mystyle Building Group agrees to rectify the condition of the house, Mr Drakos and Mr Karavisili should do it in a manner that meets the guidelines of 2008 Australian Standards for Masonry Units (Adhikari et al. 2018). In doing so, Mr and Mrs Richards will be able to recover their financial, which would be lost if the limitation clause is applied in this scenario. In summary, if Mr Drakos and Mr Karavisili agree to renovate the condition of the house, Mr and Mrs Richards will receive the award for damage in this scenario.
Question 2
The statutory protect on building façade requires that a structural engineer or expert should assess any structure before it is sold or occupied. As well, the provision of 2008 Australian Standards for Masonry Units requires building developers to build a structure that meets sufficient durability period to perform that intended purpose or function. The provision of this requirement state Building Owner’s Corporation should present a report of an investigation that indicates the condition of the structure before any contract is signed by a third party when transferring ownership (Crabtree, 2013). In case of negligence, then the person party would be held liable thus should compensate for the damages.
Part B
Building confidence in the Australian building and construction industry primarily depends on compliance with guidelines of the National Construction Code (NCC). To achieve this, accountability and regulation desperately need to be encouraged to ensure that issue that can compromise the standards of structures are handled appropriately. As well, accountability can help in ensuring that building materials and components are the right ones which should be used in building and construction of both residential and commercial purposes (Crabtree, 2013).
Quality assurance is another action that should be maintained in the building industry to ensure that all structure is standard and meet the provision of the National Construction Code (NCC). Quality assurance can be managed by making governmental institutions as the supervisory body that assess whether construction of a structure meets the minimum requirements of the National Construction Code (NCC) (Crabtree, 2013). In doing so, the government will be able to assess the quality of all structures set up all parts of the country. Consequently, this will enhance store confidence in structures and store build in the country because they will meet the legal requirements.
Furthermore, the Australian government should implement laws that require only qualified, skilled and trained professionals to participate in the construction of building both residential and commercial building like stores. Doing so will help in ensuring that quality assurance and compliance with National Construction Code (NCC) is maintained because skilled and trained constructor will be capable of strictly follow all construction guidelines (Crabtree, 2013). As a result, this will enhance store confidence on structures and store build in the country because they will meet the legal requirements because all structure erected will be standard.
In summary, it is prudent to maintain a high standard in the construction of both commercial and residential structures to attract both businessmen and household confidence about the quality of the structure.
References
Adhikari, K., Bosse, J., Fish, A., & Sherman, B. (2018). Intellectual property and related legal issues facing the Australian Native Food Industry (pp. 1-34). AgriFutures Australia.
Chand, A. (2017). Children and the law in Australia [Book Review]. Ethos: Official Publication of the Law Society of the Australian Capital Territory, (244), 60.
Crabtree, L. (2013). Decolonising property: exploring ethics, land, and time, through housing interventions in contemporary Australia. Environment and Planning D: Society and Space, 31(1), 99-115.