Cris Cureton

Contactor Regulatory and Compliance

• Undertaken major audit and risk management review for the Department of Infrastructure’s contract and procurement.
• Documented and advised on the implementation of comprehensive environmental and occupational health and safety programs and legislative registers for a BHP Billiton subsidiary.
• Coordinated audit and continuous improvement programs for a major contractor to assist with accreditation under the Federal National Construction Code 2013.
• Assisted a tier 1 contractor with developing and implementing a project and contract audit program, whereby major contracts and projects are audited for compliance with contractual requirements. This included assisting with the development of technology applications for the real-time tracking of contract administration and compliance.

Projects

• Undertaken project procurement for bulk handling equipment for the development of Darwin East Arm Port.
• Drafted suites of contracts for institutional principals and contractors, including the Department of Infrastructure, Power and Water Corporation, Macquarie Services, a tier 1 contractor and significant property trust companies.
• Acted for contractor participants in PPPs, including Darwin Waterfront, Darwin Prison, Darwin Marine Supply Base, Ballarat Prison and, most recently, the tenderer for Sydney Metro (West).
• Drawing bespoke contracts for numerous building projects, including for a premium office building designed by New York architects Pei Freedman and a 33-level residential building.

Disputes

• Acting for John Holland Pty Ltd (when part of the Leighton Group) in a successful defence and compromise of a seven-year Supreme Court action brought against it for the allegedly defective refurbishment of a hospital. The defect allegations exceeded 4,000 individual items across all services and the alternative solution fire engineering of the hospital. The litigation included 18 third parties and three fourth parties, as the contractor had to seek contribution from multiple offshore reinsurance syndicates, and its consultants and subcontractors. The litigation was successfully resolved after a five-week expert conclave.
• Acting for John Holland Pty Ltd (when part of the Leighton Group) in a successful recovery of delay and disruption claims claimed in excess of AU$120 million against JKC in the CVL 2 subcontract package of the Ichthys LNG Project.
• Acting for UGL in its joint venture with Kentz on the Mech 1 subcontract package of the Ichthys LNG Project.
• Acting for a major engineering contractor on contract administration and claims on the Mech 2 subcontract package of the Ichthys LNG Project, Port Headland port extension, and Gorgon LNG and Macedon LNG projects.
• Acting for Laing O’Rourke in successful injunction proceedings preventing what is understood to be the largest call upon security bonds in Australian history, and successfully defending that injunction in a unanimous decision of the NSW Court of Appeal.
• Acting for a tier 1 contractor in an international arbitration arising from the termination of a contract and demobilisation of more than 800 project labourers.
• Acting for Metso Minerals in successfully defending a claim valued at more than AU$300 million surrounding the performance of mine processing equipment in four interrelated actions in the Supreme Courts of the Northern Territory and Queensland, and the Federal Court in Sydney.
• Acting in numerous mediations, including conducting several mediations.
• Acting in several significant security for payment applications (including for significant amounts) and judicial reviews of adjudication determinations under the security for payment legislation regimes in the Northern Territory, Western Australia and South Australia.