Court quashes Dalkeith home reno row

The Supreme Court has quashed a bid to drag another party into a bitter row between two wealthy neighbours in Dalkeith.

Prominent Perth investors Tony and Maria Priolo have been locked in a war of words with Civcon boss Khanh Nguyen and his wife Yen Tran over works at their Viking Road property, which began in 2015.

In the years that followed, the Priolos aired a raft of complaints about the way in which the building was constructed by their neighbours.

But the stoush escalated last year, when the Priolos took their neighbours, Civcon and Nonnii Construction to court for damages over allegations of negligence, nuisance and trespass.

The Priolos also sought injunctions forcing the defendants to remove any material unlawfully on their land or to build a retaining wall between the two properties, which are currently separated by a 90-millimetre wall.

The writ was served on three of the four parties almost one year later, just days before it was set to go stale.

But Ms Tran was interstate and could not be served, prompting the court to grant an extension to the life of the lawsuit.

Ms Tran then pushed for the orders to be set aside.

Supreme Court Master Craig Sanderson determined that the factors militating against an extension of time outweighed those in favour of it.

He added that the action promised to be lengthy, bitter and costly and raised questions as to whether it warranted the consumption of finite court resources.

He also highlighted the number of neighbourhood disputes moving from Perth’s western suburbs to the court courtesy of “well-resourced” individuals.

“Really, this is a case where the plaintiffs, having chosen to live by the sword, will die by the sword,” he said.

“The interests of justice simply do not warrant the extension being granted and the ex parte orders will be set aside. 

“It is a fundamental aspect of the rule of law that citizens should have recourse to the courts to allow their rights to be protected.

“Reasonable persons may differ as to whether this case represents a productive use of the necessarily finite resources of this court. 

“I know where I stand on this issue.”

While acknowledging there had been some correspondence before the writ was issued, Master Sanderson said they accepted the risks by waiting until the last moment to serve it. 

Furthermore, he said there was evidence to support that the Priolos took any steps to progress or investigate the claim in the 12 months that they held onto the writs.

“To leave service of the writ to the last-minute invites disaster,” he said.

The war between the Priolo's, Mr Nguyen, Civcon and Nonnii will continue, with a second claim on foot in the Magistrates Court relating to allegations of leaves dropping from Mr Nguyen and Ms Tran’s property into the Priolos' pool.

Civcon and Mr Nguyen told Business News they were not in a position to comment.

Perth investors Tony and Maria Priolo, who spearhead Balcatta-based Priolo Corporation, bought the WA Club building on St Georges Terrace in 2007 for $8.9 million.

Priolo Corporation also owned the three-storey 1904 Fashion House at the end of Kings Street, which it bought for $4.8 million in 2006.