#21835
scotlandx
Strataguru

    mini – the High Court case you cite is a contract case which considers the principle of quantum meruit. 

    The Swan case dealt with an owner making unauthorised repairs to the common property, where it was held that the expenses were not recoverable as a loss attributable to a breach of duty, i.e. the OC did not breach its duty, and it is up to the OC to determine how the common property is to be repaired.  The reverse does not apply – the OC is not telling the owner how to repair his property, they were simply investigating the source of a leak.

    Neither of those cases is relevant to this issue.  It is very dangerous to take parts of decisions from different fact scenarios considering different legal principles, and applying them to something like this.

    The issue here is quite simple – if you have something in your lot that is faulty that affects the common property, are you liable for the expenses in both investigating and repairing the fault?  I would say yes – if you are liable for the repair, you are liable for investigating the source of the fault.