Buyquick.com Ltd v Foxgold Pty Ltd

Buyquick.com Ltd filed a claim against Foxgold Pty Ltd, seeking to enforce an arbitration agreement. The matter was heard in the Supreme Court of Western Australia. The primary dispute was whether the requirement to confer under Order 59 Rule 9 of the Supreme Court Civil Rules 2006 (WA) could be waived and, if not, what the appropriate costs order should be for the failure to comply with the conferral rule.

The court was tasked with determining if the procedural requirement to confer, as outlined in Order 59 Rule 9, could be waived. If not, it had to consider the appropriate costs consequences for the failure to comply with this rule. The plaintiff argued that the failure to confer should result in a costs penalty, while the defendant contended that the conferral requirement should be waived and that the plaintiff's application for costs should be dismissed.

The court found that the requirement to confer under Order 59 Rule 9 could not be waived. The conferral rule is a mandatory procedural requirement intended to ensure that parties attempt to resolve their disputes before proceeding to trial. The court held that the failure to confer resulted in a costs penalty. The court rejected the defendant's argument that the conferral requirement should be waived and ordered that the plaintiff's application for costs should proceed. The court made an order that the defendant pay the plaintiff's costs of the application for costs in a specified amount.