Lal v Chand; Suva City Council v Chand [1983] FijiLawRp 28; [1983] 29 FLR 71 (28 March 1983)

[1983] 29 FLR 71

COURT OF APPEAL OF FIJI

Civil Jurisdiction

SURUJ LAL

v

JOSEPH MICHAEL CHAND
SUVA CITY COUNCIL &
ATTORNEY-GENERAL

and

SUVA CITY COUNCIL

v

JOSEPH MICHAEL CHAND

[COURT OF APPEAL -Speight, J.A., Mishra, J.A., Ongley, J.A.]

Date of Hearing: 22 March 1983
Delivery of Judgement: 28 March 1983

S. M. Koya for the First Appellant
V. Parmanandam for the Second Appellant
S. R. Shankar for the Respondent Chand

(Contract-Negligence-House-faulty foundations-subsidence-liability of builder vendor therefor-liability of Council in failing to exercise control by its own inspector over construction.)

Appeal against a decision given in the Supreme Court at Suva whereby the appellants were held liable to the respondent Chand for damages suffered by him when his house collapsed after heavy rain.

The first appellant was in the construction business, having built houses in Suva. The second was the local authority controlling construction in the area.

The first appellant (builder) built a house, partly single and partly double storey on sloping land he owned. Some of the surface was natural. The rest had on it fill from earth deposited by road makers.

Plans for the house were submitted to and approved by the second appellant (Council) wherein it was specified that all columns supporting the house would be imbedded 12" into solid soap-stone.

On the built up section, excavation for several feet failed to strike soap-stone. Columns were then allowed with the approval of a building inspector employed by Council to rest on pads above natural grounds.

Erection was finished in 1978. A completion certificate was issued by the Council. Early in 1979 cracks appeared in the walls. The builder consulted an engineer but did not tell him about the piles not being on solid soap-stone. The engineer advised the cracks were normal settling cracks. On his advice they were patched.

The house was put up for sale. The respondent inspected it and also saw, at the suggestion of the builder the engineer who had inspected it.

He purchased it for $45,000 and moved in. On 3 April 1980 after a period of heavy rain, the two storeyed part of the house sank down and away from the rest of the structure leaving a large gap in the wall. That part of the house was found to be beyond repair.