Lawyers for the Brunswick resident challenging the East West Link have accused the state government of deliberately delaying the court case until it has signed building contracts for the project.

Anthony Murphy and his legal team appeared in the Supreme Court in Melbourne on Friday to discuss arguments put forward by the state government and its planning body Linking Melbourne Authority.

Ron Merkel, QC, for Mr Murphy, described the state government's defence as "totally deficient" because it did not detail any of the trade and commerce activities it had performed in preparation for the $6 to $8 billion road, or the publications it relied on for its business case, which appeared in the Linking Melbourne Authority's arguments.

One of Mr Murphy's key arguments is that the project has been based on "misleading representations" that breach consumer protection laws.

Mr Merkel told the court that the state government had taken the six weeks it had to file a defence it could have prepared in one week, though the case began around April.