Baker v Smith (No 3)

[2019] QDC 267

DISTRICT COURT OF QUEENSLAND

CITATION:

Baker v Smith (No 3) [2019] QDC 267

PARTIES:

MICHAEL VINCENT BAKER
(appellant)

v

BRIAN ARTHUR CONWAY SMITH
(respondent)

FILE NO:

4984 of 2016

DIVISION:

Crime

PROCEEDING:

Costs Hearing

ORIGINATING COURT:

District Court at Brisbane

DELIVERED ON:

20 December 2019

DELIVERED AT:

Brisbane

HEARING DATE:

On the papers

JUDGE:

Porter QC DCJ

ORDER:

1.    The appellant pay the respondent’s costs of the second appeal in the amount of $20,000 within 6 months of the date of this order; and

2.    Order 9 made on 4 December 2019 in Amended Notice of Appeal filed 30 May 2019 be corrected so that it reads:

The appellant pay the respondent’s costs of the conviction appeal in the amount of $186,620.60 within 6 months of the date of this order.

CATCHWORDS:

CRIMINAL LAW – PROCEDURE – COSTS – where s. 232A Justices Act provides that costs of a conviction appeal may be awarded where it is just to do so having regard to the special difficulty, complexity or importance of the appeal – whether the appeal relating to the costs of the trial, sentence and other orders was of special difficulty, complexity or importance.

CRIMINAL LAW – APPEAL AND NEW TRIAL – PROCEDURE – POWERS OF COURT ON APPEAL – OTHER MATTERS – where costs were awarded against the appellant on the basis of calculations contained in an affidavit of the respondent’s solicitor – where errors in the calculation of the solicitor’s fees were detected after judgment was ordered – whether this Court hearing a matter on appeal under s. 222 Justices Act 1886 (Qld) has power to correct the order.

Justices Act 1886 (Qld), s 222, s 226, s 232A

Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 1999 (Qld), r 388
District Court of Queensland Act 1967 (Qld), s 113

Conde v Gilfoyle [2010] QCA 173

Elyard Corporation Pty Ltd v DDB Needham Sydney Pty Ltd (1995) 61 FCR 385
Gallagher v Boylan [2013] 1 Qd R 204
L Shaddock & Associates Pty Ltd v Parramatta City Council (No. 2) (1982) 151 CLR 590
R v Allen [1994] 1 Qd R 526
R v Pettigrew [1997] 1 Qd R 601

R v Stanley [2015] 1 Qd R 118

COUNSEL:

G Allan and S Trewavas for the appellant
J Hunter QC and P Hastie QC for the respondent

SOLICITORS:

Marland Law for the appellant
Department of Natural Resources and Mines for the respondent 

1. On 17 May 2019, I delivered judgment in Mr Baker’s appeal to this Court filed 19 December 2016 from his conviction in the Magistrates Court of 46 offences arising out of the clearing of native vegetation on a rural property called Chess Park, near Eidsvold in the North Burnett region (the conviction appeal).  On 4 December 2019, I handed down judgment in Baker v Smith (No 2) [2019] QDC 242 (the second appeal).  That judgment dealt with the remaining appeals relating to the trial, including costs of the trial, sentence and some other matters.  It also dealt…