Fishy business: Mures Tasmanian makes $1M legal claim against processing factory builders

Mures Tasmania has launched a $1m lawsuit against the builders of its Cambridge factory, alleging the facility’s floors do not drain water, and refrigeration units were never installed.

Mures Cambridge premises. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

Prominent Tasmanian fishing operation Mures Tasmania has launched a $1m legal claim against the builders of its Cambridge processing facility, alleging the construction firm poured flat concrete slabs which do not drain water, failed to install the agreed number of refrigeration and airconditioning units, and caused rusting inside a gourmet products freezer.

According to legal documents filed in the Supreme Court of Tasmania, Mures Tasmania Pty Ltd contracted Patrick Gerrard Holloway and Suzzette Mary Holloway in 2014 to construct a seafood-processing factory at 243 Kennedy Drive in Cambridge, and then lease the building back to Mures.

Mures Cambridge premises. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

Mures Tasmania claims that while the defendants purported to complete the facility in October 2015, they breached the written lease contract by not completing the build “in a good and workmanlike manner” consistent with engineering plans and specifications.

The $3.25m building – which includes a processing factory and retail outlet – opened to the public in late 2015, with Mures Tasmania filing an original statement of claim against the builders in February 2020.

In an amended schedule of claim filed with the Supreme Court’s Hobart registry in 2023, Mures Tasmania is seeking $700,000 for refrigeration and airconditioning units it claims were never installed, $100,000 for concrete slabs in dispatch and chiller areas that allegedly provide inadequate waiter drainage, and another $4000 for a rusting floor plate its gourmet products freezer.

Mures Tasmania has claimed another $30,000 for a roof safety access platform and walkway it says were not installed, and $23,000 for boardroom cabinetry the company says was never built.

“The plaintiff has suffered loss in that it has not received the entire benefit of the lessor’s work as warranted under the agreement to lease, and has been put to loss and expense as set out … with this statement of claim,” the documents state.

Overall, Mures Tasmania has claimed damages, interest, and costs totalling $932,677.

However, the defendants have disputed many of the allegations made against them by Mures Tasmania, and have also questioned some of the costs claimed.

According to the amended schedule, the defendants claim they were only contractually obligated to install four airconditioning units, which they estimated to cost $97,000, plus 15 per cent for designs and consultants, as opposed to the $700,000 calculated by Mures for refrigeration and airconditioning.

The defendants also claimed that the flat concrete slabs were constructed in accordance with the facility’s design, and have denied that any pooling of water is either unacceptable, or the result of poor workmanship.

The defendants also claimed that rectifying the situation would cost only $7000, plus a percentage for preliminaries and a contingency allowance, rather than the $100,000 Mures has claimed.

Alleged missing cabinetry in the Cambridge facility’s boardroom has also been disputed, with the defendants claiming that Mures Tasmania informed them the work was no longer required.

Further, the defendants say, Mures Tasmania’s costs for the cabinetry contained in its statement of claim was not reasonable.

The defendants also claim that the floor plate in the gourmet products freezer was never deficient, with rusting the result of salty water dripping onto the unit as part of factory activity.

Originally published as Fishy business: Mures Tasmanian makes $1M legal claim against processing factory builders