I have been spending a bit of time in Darwin. As it happens, I am an accredited adjudicator there, but this time I have been there as counsel, again bowling over a determination of another adjudicator.

The first outing was before the Chief Justice, obtaining interlocutory relief ex parte on notice to restrain the other party from enforcing the determination it had obtained pending the hearing of our challenge. The usual practice in the Northern Territory had not been to grant relief, but happily, the Chief Justice gave indications that he was persuaded by my submissions that we had a prima facie case, and as to the balance of convenience, that the factors to weigh in the balance were potentially

• to keep the adjudication claimant of of its money for a couple of weeks or so, while the challenge was heard, contrasted with
• to keep the adjudication respondent out of its money for perhaps a couple of years or so, for the payment to be recouped by full-scale arbitration poroceedings.

He was thus minded to follow the New South Wales practice, noted in Williams v Concreting Services [2013] NSWSC 85 per McDougall J: Continue reading →