Chow Group, the Wellington-based property developer better known for its sex industry empire, has copped Clearwater Construction's legal bill in a stoush over an unpaid bill.
Justice Stephen Kos granted engineering company Clearwater's claim for $23,000 in costs and some $3300 in disbursements in the High Court in Wellington, according to a judgment published on the Justice Ministry's website this week.
In October, Chow Group agreed to pay an $875,000 unpaid bill to stave off liquidation after failing to convince the judge Clearwater should bear the credit risk of a negligence claim against the engineering firm's work on the now-demolished Palace Hotel in Auckland.
"The fact that Chow contended it was solvent did not entitle it to refuse to pay an indisputable debt, simply because it did not wish to," the judgment said.
"Chow has to bear Clearwater's credit risk against the prospect of a favourable judgment in the negligence proceedings some time down the track."
Justice Kos said the costs claim was reasonable.
In September, Chow Group unsuccessfully sought to throw out the building dispute adjudication that led to the liquidation proceeding. It had refused to pay the fifth instalment to Clearwater for work on Auckland's Palace Hotel.
The building was torn down by order of the Auckland Council in November when it began to collapse during work to construct a high-rise brothel opposite SkyCity Casino.
Chow Group escaped prosecution when a city council report found there wasn't sufficient evidence to find the specific cause of the building's failure.
NZN