The Art of War

How do you sue yourself?

This conundrum was recently faced by Sentosa Waters, 50-lot scheme in Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast.

Apparently riddled with urgent maintenance issues, several motions to approve remediation works and funding arrangements were put to lot owners at an annual general meeting but were all voted down.

Not to be deterred, the body corporate committee filed an Adjudication Application on behalf of the body corporate seeking a declaration that the common property is "not in good condition" and orders which broadly authorised the committee to do what was contemplated in the defeated AGM motions.

Notably, the Application named the body corporate as applicant and failed to name a respondent.

In the circumstances, the appropriate course of action would have been for a lot owner (or owners) to file the Application against the body corporate.  After all, it was the body corporate who failed to pass the motions.

Accordingly, the Adjudicator found that the body corporate had no standing as applicant and in fact was the appropriate respondent to the dispute.

There is an often-quoted passage in Sun Tzu's The Art of War which states:

"If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle."

Clearly the body corporate knew neither the enemy nor itself.  The Adjudication Application was dismissed for want of jurisdiction.