Bartlett v The Owners - Strata Plan No 12375

Bartlett brought an application against The Owners - Strata Plan No 12375 seeking a refund of levies paid for litigation costs and expenses incurred by the owners corporation in earlier proceedings. The applicant sold his lot after initiating the application. The application raised two separate questions: whether the Tribunal had jurisdiction to hear the application and what was the correct characterisation of the consent orders made in the earlier proceedings. The earlier proceedings resulted in consent orders which included a credit of $3,000 against the amount found owing to Bartlett.

The court needed to determine the jurisdiction of the Tribunal to hear the application and the proper interpretation of the consent orders. Specifically, the court had to decide whether the orders precluded the applicant from seeking a refund of further owners corporation costs in the earlier proceedings. The applicant argued that the orders did not preclude the claim, as they only recognised a credit for certain costs and did not address all costs incurred by the owners corporation.

The court held that the Tribunal had jurisdiction to hear the application because the applicant was a lot owner at the time of filing. The court also found that the consent orders recognised a credit of $3,000 against the amount owing to Bartlett but did not preclude the applicant from seeking a refund of further owners corporation costs in the earlier proceedings. The court ordered a directions hearing to address the remaining issues and reserved the costs of the application.