Application for Summary Judgment
Summary Judgment A summary judgment is a final court decision made without a full trial, resolving all or part of a case when the facts and law clearly indicate that one party will succeed or fail. A party seeks summary judgment by demonstrating that there are no genuine disputes over the facts, or that the […]
Bank Guarantees and Injunctions
The Sacrosanct Nature of Bank Guarantees The effect of the recent decision of Saipem Australia Pty Ltd v GLNG Operations Pty Ltd on section 67J of the Queensland Building and Construction Commission Act 1991 (Qld) The recent case of Saipem Australia Pty Ltd v GLNG Operations Pty Ltd has reaffirmed the sacrosanct nature of bank guarantees. The case considered the operation […]
Building and Construction – Latent defects and issuing variations
When can a builder legitimately issue variations dealing with ‘latent defects’ and when are variations illegitimately issued resulting in a builder charging outside of their quote? Introduction There is nothing worse than relying on a quote as security you will not spend outside of your budget for your big building project only to have your […]
Calderbank Offers
Calderbank Offers A Calderbank offer is a formal settlement proposal, marked “Without Prejudice Save As To Costs,” intended to promote negotiation and prevent costly litigation. If the offer is reasonable and the recipient rejects it but later achieves a less favourable outcome in court, the party making the offer can seek indemnity costs, potentially requiring […]
Contracts, Breaches, Damages and Penalties
Agreed Damages Clauses in Contracts The High Court decision in Andrews v Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (Andrews) has significantly increased the level of scrutiny over agreed damages clauses in contracts, particularly those which are non-negotiable. The cases following Andrews have made it clear that the mechanisms used to draft contracts need to be changed to ensure […]
Contracts – When is a Contract Binding – Masters V Cameron
Masters v Cameron is a significant Australian contract law case establishing that parties can be in one of four types of agreement, even when contemplating a formal document, but in Masters v Cameron’s specific circumstances, no binding agreement was formed because the vendor’s solicitors reserving the right to approve the contract, meaning the finalisation of […]
Defamation, Defamation of Character, Defamatory Statements
In Queensland, defamation is a civil wrong (tort) involving the publication of false statements to a third party that cause serious harm to a person’s reputation. Governed by the Defamation Act 2005, these claims require the claimant to demonstrate “serious harm” to their reputation, not merely emotional distress. Legal action must be initiated within a […]
Enforcing Money Orders from QCAT
Enforcing Money Orders from QCAT Decisions handed down by the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT) are enforceable and must be complied with. The Tribunal however, is not responsible for enforcing the decision. The party responsible for taking steps to enforce the decision is the party whose favour the decision has been made in. In […]
Extension of Limitation Period
Extension of Limitation Period Limitation periods for commencing litigation and extensions of limitation periods Legislation in Queensland and other states sets out certain period of times within which proceedings must be started for various causes of action, being relevantly in Qld, the Limitations of Actions Act (Qld). If actions are not started before the period […]
Appealing a QCAT Decision
Appealing a QCAT Decision Decisions handed down by the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT) are only able to be appealed in certain circumstances. There are particular decisions that cannot be appealed against, these include: Decisions to accept or reject an application made by the Principal Registrar or a delegate A direction to accept or reject […]