Coleman v Seaborne Pty Ltd

Coleman (the appellant) brought a claim against Seaborne Pty Ltd (the respondent) seeking recovery on a quantum meruit basis. The dispute concerned the value of work performed by the appellant for the respondent. The appeal was heard by the Court of Appeal of New South Wales.

The primary legal issues before the Court of Appeal were whether the appellant's pleading of "quantum meruit" was sufficient to encompass both contractual and restitutionary claims, and whether the trial court's adoption of a referee's report, which allegedly contained an error of law, constituted an appealable error.

The Court of Appeal held that a pleading of "quantum meruit" is sufficient to cover both contractual and restitutionary claims, as the term itself encompasses claims for reasonable remuneration for services rendered. Furthermore, the Court found that the trial judge's adoption of the referee's report, even if the report contained an error, did not constitute an appealable error of law on the part of the judge. The Court reasoned that the referee's findings were adopted as findings of fact by the judge, and the judge was not required to independently re-examine the evidence or the referee's reasoning process in a way that would create a new error of law.

The appeal was dismissed, and the appellant was ordered to pay the respondent's costs.