Brown v Seltsam Pty Limited

In the case of Brown v Seltsam Pty Limited, the plaintiff, Brown, pursued legal action against the defendant, Seltsam Pty Limited, in the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal. The dispute arose from an incident that occurred during a civil jury trial, where judgment was ultimately entered in favour of Brown. Notably, prior to the trial, Brown had made an offer to settle the action, which Seltsam Pty Limited did not accept. The offer was not less favourable than the sum awarded in the judgment, leading to a contention over the appropriate allocation of costs under r 360(2) of the Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 1999 (Qld). Brown argued that Seltsam Pty Limited should be ordered to pay Brown's costs on a standard basis up to and including the date of the offer, and on an indemnity basis thereafter. Conversely, Seltsam Pty Limited contended that the circumstances warranted a different order for costs and sought to limit its liability to paying Brown's costs on a standard basis, citing several factors that indicated significant changes to Brown's case post the offer.

The legal issues before the court centred on the appropriate method of calculating costs, particularly whether they should be assessed on an indemnity basis following the date of the rejected offer. The court was tasked with evaluating the relevance of the factors presented by Seltsam Pty Limited, including a significant amendment to the statement of claim, the provision of expert reports, and the tendering of an additional statement during the trial. The court had to determine if these developments constituted a significant change in the circumstances that would justify departing from the usual indemnity costs order.

In reaching its decision, the court considered the factors put forward by Seltsam Pty Limited but ultimately concluded that these did not sufficiently alter the landscape of the case to warrant a deviation from the usual indemnity costs order. The court found that the significant amendment to the statement of claim, the expert reports, and the additional statement did not sufficiently change the nature or scope of Brown's claims to warrant a different cost order. Consequently, the court ordered Seltsam Pty Limited to pay Brown's costs calculated on a standard basis up to and including 4 April 2025, and on an indemnity basis from 5 April 2025.