In a major setback to Ar Elenber Fraser, the highest court of Victoria has rejected his appeal along with two other consultants who were found to be liable for damages to a Docklands apartment building that caught ablaze in 2014. A report by SURFACES REPORTER (SR).
Started by a cigarette butt, the fire quickly went up to the building cladding leading to major damage. Due to this fact, the specification, installation and assessment of the cladding material thus became a crucial issue in the legal proceedings.In the decision taken by the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal in 2019, the architect of the Lacrosse apartment building, Elenberg Fraser, the building surveyor and fire engineer all found guilty of breaching their respective contract with the builder LU Simon and was thus liable to pay the building's owner for the $12 million in current and anticipated future losses. The tribunal apportioned 25 percent of the liability to the architect, 33 percent to the building surveyor and 39 percent to the fire engineer. The judge ordered $5.75 million to be paid by the builder initially, with the consultants to reimburse the builder and pay for the remainder of losses as they arose.The three consultants appealed the tribunal’s decision, proposing 25 grounds for appeal and 11 issues that required resolution. However, the appeals court rejected all grounds for appeal made by the architect.
The court considered two issues relating directly to the architect. First, whether Elenberg Fraser had directed the builder to select, or permitted the builder to select, "any composite metal cladding product that was contrary to the Building Act 1993 and the Building Code of Australia”; and second, whether the Tribunal erred in finding that Elenberg Fraser was “negligent in respect of its inspection and approval of the cladding sample.”A crucial judgement in the Indian context
This is probably the first time an architect, building surveyor and the fire engineer are directly held responsible for not adhering to the laws properly and chosen a material that is quickly prone to fire. Not long back, in London the 24-storey Grenfell Tower also went up in flames, it was attributed to the cladding material used on the structure. Share your thoughts on how and whom should the accountability be fixed for such cases to be avoided.
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