Nicholas Gallina

Profile

Nick is a qualified engineer with a practice in technology, engineering and construction disputes. He also has a broader commercial litigation practice dealing with contractual disputes, property law and interlocutory matters, such as security for costs, injunctions and privilege disputes. He appears (as sole counsel as well as junior counsel) in trial and interlocutory hearings in all Victorian jurisdictions.

Nick’s matters include:

• Acted for developers in VCAT proceedings concerning defects claims by owners and an owners corporation, and builder delay and disruption claims: Concrete Construction Systems Pty Ltd v Giuseppe Inglese and Gwynneth Inglese.
• Acted for design engineers in Victorian Supreme Court proceedings concerning shopping centre defects and alleged professional negligence: Construction Engineering (Aust) Pty Ltd v Adams Consulting Engineers Pty Ltd.
• Demolition and reconstruction in lieu of defect rectification: Antczak v Tara Roach Pty Ltd [2016] VCAT 879.
• Appeared in injunction proceedings to restrain the demolition of property infrastructure.
• Advised developers and owners about property disputes including caveats and enforceability of sale of land contracts (e.g., change in plan of sub-division, disclosure issues).
• Advised a property investor about recovery of funds under the Property Law Act 1958 following alleged fraudulent disposition of property.
• Defending a national building company and its executive management against alleged breaches of building law.   
• Security for costs: Roth Morgan Kolomanski Pty Ltd v Candlebrush Investments Pty Ltd [2018] VSC 288 (led by Tim North QC).
• Penalties, settlement deed and specific performance: Retire One Day Pty Ltd v Sullivan Property Pty Ltd [2017] VSC 243.

Before joining the Bar, he was a Senior Associate at Allens, prior to which he was a Principal Engineer at AECOM, working on large scale heavy industrial, mining and commercial projects. As a qualified engineer, he has an intimate knowledge of engineering projects, having been closely involved in them from feasibility and design through to construction and commissioning.

Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards legislation.