Victoria’s Supreme Court of Appeal last week backed a lower court judgment finding that LU Simon should not have to pay $12 million in damages for combustible cladding installed by the builder on Melbourne’s Lacrosse building, as it was reliant on the advice of its consultants when it put combustible panels on the apartment tower.

In a judgment handed down on Friday – earlier than many lawyers expected – a month after conclusion of the week-long appeal hearing, justices David Beach, Kathryn Stynes and Robert Osborn upheld the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal finding that fire engineer Thomas Nicolas, building surveyor Gardner Group and architect Elenberg Fraser were liable for the panels that spread a potentially fatal fire at the apartment tower.