'David slew Goliath': Solar panel court win for homeowner

A 60-year-old Brisbane woman has won a David-and-Goliath-style battle against a developer who wanted to dictate where she placed solar panels on her house.

Oxmar Properties took Pauline Tyler all the way to the Supreme Court in its fight to have her solar panels moved so they couldn't be seen from the street.

Little did the company and its director Phil Murphy know, Pauline would not be backing down.

"I call it David versus Goliath because I've spoken to a lot of people and they say he's got the money to fight it, so you might as well do it and I say ‘no I'm not going to cave'," Pauline told A Current Affair.

Oxmar Properties wanted the solar panels hidden from street view even though that’s the side they needed to be on to generate maximum efficiency.

Oxmar Properties' solicitors tried to enforce a covenant that Pauline signed when she bought her block of land, which they say allowed the company to decide where she placed her panels.

But Supreme Court judge, Justice Martin Burns, disagreed, ruling in favour of Pauline, and dismissing Oxmar Properties' application. He also awarded costs to Pauline.

"We won, David slayed Goliath," Pauline told A Current Affair reporter Dan Nolan moments after the judge sided with her.

"It's been a horrible 16 months. I'm glad it's finally over."

Pauline's lawyer Sean Kelly says it was a victory for common sense, and the decision will impact thousands of other homeowners who buy a piece of land.

Oxmar Properties has instructed its lawyers to launch an appeal against the Supreme Court ruling.