Application for contempt and clarification of store fit-out orders refused as court retrospectively extends deadline amid delays

The High Court refused to declare the defendant in contempt of court for failing to complete the fit out works of a store by the original deadline, finding that the relevant court orders were not sufficiently unambiguous to support such a finding. While the defendant completed the works over six weeks after the extended deadline, the court retrospectively extended the time for compliance to the actual completion date, reasoning that the delay—though egregious and unjustified—did not amount to a serious or wilful contempt warranting a penalty. The plaintiff's application for orders clarifying and expanding the meaning of the original orders was also refused, as the legal issues sought to be clarified had not been determined in the prior litigation. The defendant was ordered to pay the costs of the extension application, while the parties were invited to make further submissions on the costs of the contempt motion.