‘Worst nightmare’: Homes slide down hill
Homeowners in the NSW Central Coast have been left fuming after an abandoned development site caused a landslide, with one couple told their home is now “worthless”.
National
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EXCLUSIVE
A group of homeowners have been left furious after an abandoned development site created a landslide on their street – leaving them living precariously on the side of a hill.
Young homeowners Edmund Brown and Irena Saric took developers Etna Developments Pty Ltd and builders Nutek Constructions Pty Ltd to the NSW Supreme Court after their driveway collapsed into the site in 2021, trapping their cars and rendering their property “virtually worthless”.
The site – located on Etna St, Gosford on the NSW Central Coast – was approved by council for the development of 55 residential apartments in 2016, but was left abandoned after both the developers and building company went into liquidation.
The couple were awarded $4.4 million in damages after NSW Justice Kelly Rees found the builders and developers were “negligent” and “in breach of a duty of care” owed by the homeowners, who bought the home in 2015.
The court heard how a geotechnical report, which was prepared in 2015 before the DA approval, warned of a high risk of the landslide, however, the advice was ignored and excavation works began without the proper safeguards.
“This case is a homeowner’s worst nightmare.” Judge Rees said.
Homeowners Grace and Jeff Huang, who live next door to Mr Brown and Ms Saric, told news.com.au they have complained to council, their local politicians and NSW SafeWork to no avail.
The Huangs, who also bought their home in 2015, said they have been less affected than Mr Brown and Ms Saric as their home is a bit further away from the site.
However, they have recently started noticing cracks in their homes foundations and windows.
“One night their driveway just washed away. It is a nightmare,” Ms Huang said.
Their main concern is the damaged driveway which is used to access three homes in total on the street. The driveway runs up the development site, but is technically owned by Mr Brown and Ms Saric.
Ms Huang said they are nervous every time their two adult children use the driveway.
“I say be careful. I just worry they might fall in,” she said.
The Kalantzis family
The court heard how four members of the Kalantzis family ran or worked for Nutek Constructions – brothers Nick and Konstadinos and their sons Alex and Frank.
Frank was named as the sole director and shareholder – however – Judge Rees said it was “readily apparent” he was used as a “puppet director”.
The court heard had a disability and had “no knowledge of the affairs of the company”.
Judge Rees found Nick and Kon to be de facto directors of Nutek – however that all four men had been “involved in the excavation work” of the site at some stage.
The court heard how Nutek began excavation between 2017 and 2020 but failed to install retaining structures.
Excavation started up again in 2021 when a retaining wall was built. However, the wall was built in front of Mr Brown and Ms Saric’s property. The works further destabilised the land, with Mr Brown and Ms Saric’s driveway collapsing in November 2021.
The court also heard how Etna Developments was owned by Joseph Lagan who was a long time friend of Kon. Etna Developments did not file a defence in the case.
Nick attempts to have video thrown out
Earlier in the year, Nick attempted objected to a video of him being used in the case.
The video, filmed by Ms Saric in September 2021, showed a conversation between the young couple and Nick.
In the video, the young couple told Nick they had engaged a lawyer.
“I don’t care about the lawyers. They don’t frighten me at all. Do you know how many lawyers I’ve dealt with over the years?” Nick said.
“There’s no good threatening people with lawyers. Lawyers are like cockroaches to me.”
The video was granted, as the judge ruled Nick clearly knew he was being filmed.
Damages
Judge Rees ruled the cost of rectifying the house and land to be around $2.1 million.
She said that despite the home being valued at $745,000 without the damages, it was “reasonable” that the young couple might want to rebuild their home.
“Mr Brown and Ms Saric have lived in their Etna Street home since they bought the property in 2015. It was not suggested to the plaintiffs that they had a strong desire to move,” Judge Rees said.
“They were not asked whether they had been looking around. The fact is that, since all of these events have occurred, they had not moved house.”
Judge Rees ruled both the developer and builders pay the $2.1 million each – as well as $50,000 to both Mr Brown and Ms Saric for prolonged trespassing and emotional distress.
The court heard how the young couple had received abuse from the builders.
“The stress and inconvenience suffered by the couple was significant,” Judge Rees said.
“Their treatment by the defendants, in particular, Nick and Kon, was both dismissive and insulting.”
Judge Rees also referred the case to the Building Commission NSW and to ASIC.
Nick said he would be filing an appeal of the court decision.
“At the end of the day there was minimal damage. They’ve made a mountain out of a mole hill,” he said about the decision.
“Our intentions have always been good.”
Originally published as ‘Worst nightmare’: Homes slide down hill
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