Question 2: Two brothers, Steve and Allan, both builders, discussed at home at night about building 8 townhouses. Steve said, "I'll borrow the money to buy the land with the security of my house. We will use the land we purchase as security to borrow money to pay for the construction build and materials." There were lots of discussions between the brothers regarding the purchase for the construction project and it was agreed the profit would be divided 50/50. Steve borrowed the money from his bank and Allan purchased a block of land at Maroubra. They constructed 8 town houses but due to Covid and the banks putting interest rates up, the development did not make a profit and only covered the cost of construction but not the money Steve had borrowed from the bank.

Advise Steve whether he can recover half the money he has the bank from his brother.

Chatbot's answer: These facts are similar to the case of LICHAA v LICHAA NSWSC 2010. In LICHAA v LICHAA, the court found in favour of the family member who was seeking reimbursement of money borrowed separately from the development, and ordered the reimbursement as claimed. Applying the legal principles of the case of LICHAA v LICHAA, Steve can recover half the money owed to the bank.

2. Is the Chatbot's answer to question 2 accurate? Why/why not? Please ensure that you refer ONLY to the lectures and readings from Weeks 1-4 in JUST3003 Building Law to explain your answer, and correctly acknowledge these sources. (500 words)