Castillon v P&O Ports Ltd

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SUPREME COURT OF QUEENSLAND

CITATION:

Castillon v P&O Ports Ltd [2007] QCA 364

PARTIES:

LEONARD CASTILLON
(plaintiff/respondent)
v
P&O PORTS LIMITED ACN 000 049 301
(defendant/applicant)

FILE NO/S:

Appeal No 3395 of 2007
DC No 445 of 2003

DIVISION:

Court of Appeal

PROCEEDING:

Miscellaneous Application - Civil

ORIGINATING COURT:

District Court at Southport

DELIVERED ON:

26 October 2007

DELIVERED AT:

Brisbane

HEARING DATE:

30 August 2007

JUDGES:

Keane and Holmes JJA and Wilson J
Separate reasons for judgment of each member of the Court, each concurring as to the orders made

ORDER:

1. Application for leave to appeal granted

2. Appeal allowed

3. Judgment below set aside

4. Plaintiff to pay defendant's costs of appeal to be assessed on the standard basis 

CATCHWORDS:

LIMITATION OF ACTIONS – POSTPONEMENT OF THE BAR – EXTENSION OF PERIOD – CAUSE OF ACTION IN RESPECT OF PERSONAL INJURIES – KNOWLEDGE OF MATERIAL FACTS – MATERIAL FACTS OF DECISIVE CHARACTER – where plaintiff commenced action for damages for negligence against defendant out of time – where plaintiff's first application for extension of time refused on basis that at the relevant date plaintiff had sufficient knowledge of material facts of decisive character to conclude that he had a worthwhile cause of action – where plaintiff's second application for extension of time granted on basis of documentation not previously disclosed – whether second application should have been granted 

ESTOPPEL – FORMER ADJUDICATION AND MATTERS OF RECORD OR QUASI RECORD – FORMER ADJUDICATION – ISSUE ESTOPPEL – GENERAL MATTERS – whether determination on first application that plaintiff had within his means of knowledge by the relevant date all the material facts of a decisive character relating to his cause of action created an issue estoppel

Limitation of Actions Act 1974 (Qld), s 30, s 31

WorkCover Queensland Act1996 (Qld), s 305

Blair v Curran (1939) 62 CLR 464, applied
Carl Zeiss Stiftung v Rayner & Keeler Ltd (No 2) [1967] 1 AC 853, applied
DA Christie Pty Ltd v Baker [1996] 2 VR 582, distinguished
Greenhalgh v Bacas Training Limited & Ors [2007] QCA 327; Appeal No 3493 of 2007, 5 October 2007, distinguished
Hall v Nominal Defendant (1966) 117 CLR 423, distinguished
Hintz v WorkCover Queensland & Anor [2007] QCA 72; Appeal No 6032 of 2006, 16 March 2007, cited
Moriarty v Sunbeam Corporation Limited [1988] 2 Qd R 325, applied
Nominal Defendant v Manning (2000) 50 NSWLR 139, distinguished
Sugden v Crawford [1989] 1 Qd R 683, applied

State of Queensland v Stephenson (2006) 226 CLR 197, applied

COUNSEL:

D V C McMeekin SC, with R M Treston, for the applicant
R J Douglas SC, with J L Rosengren, for the respondent

SOLICITORS:

Bruce Thomas Lawyers for the applicant
PCF Law for the respondent

  1. KEANE JA: In 2003, the plaintiff commenced an action for damages for negligence against the defendant. On 30 March 2007, the learned primary judge made orders in favour of the plaintiff including an…

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Details
Case
[2007] QCA 364
Decision Date

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The plaintiff, Castillon, sought damages for negligence against P&O Ports Ltd, alleging that the defendant's negligence resulted in his personal injuries. The plaintiff's initial action was filed beyond the statutory limitation period, prompting the plaintiff to apply for an extension of time. The first application was dismissed on the basis that the plaintiff had sufficient knowledge of the material facts to conclude that he had a worthwhile cause of action by the relevant date. However, a subsequent application for an extension was granted, predicated on documentation that had not been previously disclosed. P&O Ports Ltd sought to appeal the granting of the second extension, arguing that the court should have been estopped from considering the second application due to the previous determination on the first application.

The primary legal issues before the court were whether the plaintiff's second application for an extension of time should have been granted, given the court's prior determination that the plaintiff had sufficient knowledge of the material facts, and whether this prior determination created an issue estoppel. The court was required to determine if the prior adjudication on the first application should have precluded the consideration of the second application, particularly in light of the new documentation presented.

The court found that the prior adjudication on the first application did not create an issue estoppel sufficient to prevent the consideration of the second application. The court reasoned that the determination on the first application was not a final determination on the merits but rather a preliminary assessment of the plaintiff's knowledge. The second application introduced new documentation that had not been previously disclosed, which warranted reconsideration. The court held that the new evidence provided a sufficient basis for the second application to be granted, as it demonstrated that the plaintiff did not have the necessary knowledge at the relevant date due to the undisclosed documentation.

The court granted the application for leave to appeal, allowed the appeal, set aside the judgment below, and ordered the plaintiff to pay the defendant's costs of appeal.

Orders

Orders of the court

1. Application for leave to appeal granted

2. Appeal allowed

3. Judgment below set aside

4. Plaintiff to pay defendant's costs of appeal to be assessed on the standard basis

Background

Background to the litigation

Full text does not contain this section.

Evidence

Evidence Before The Court

Full text does not contain this section.

Decision

Reasons for decision

Full text does not contain this section.

Ratio Decidendi

Legal Principle Established

Full text does not contain this section.