Comprite Pty Ltd v Returned and Services League of Australia (Queensland Branch)

Comprite Pty Ltd brought an action against the Returned and Services League of Australia (Queensland Branch) for monies owed. In response, the defendant counter-claimed for sums which it asserted were paid to the plaintiff by mistake. The dispute before the court was the defendant's application to file a further amended counter-claim and the plaintiff's cross-application for summary judgment on the counter-claim. The court was required to decide whether the defendant should be granted leave to file the further amended counter-claim and whether the plaintiff should have judgment on the counter-claim.

The court considered the procedural history of the counter-claim, which had been struck out on several occasions due to its failure to identify the individuals who the defendant asserted held the mistaken beliefs it alleged. Specific orders had been made in relation to the filing of an amended counter-claim. Despite these orders, the defendant sought leave to deliver a further amended counter-claim. The court noted that the defendant's attempts to amend the counter-claim had been unsuccessful, and the latest version still did not adequately identify the individuals who the defendant claimed held the mistaken beliefs. The court held that the defendant's application for leave to file the further amended counter-claim should be dismissed.

In relation to the plaintiff's cross-application for summary judgment on the counter-claim, the court found that the defendant's counter-claim had been struck out and the defendant had been given multiple opportunities to amend it. Given the repeated failures to comply with the court's orders, the court granted the plaintiff summary judgment on the counter-claim. The court further ordered that the defendant pay the plaintiff's costs of and incidental to the application for leave to file the further amended counter-claim and the cross-application for summary judgment. The plaintiff was also granted leave to counter-claim in the form of the draft counter-claim attached to the affidavit of Peter Glen Mylne. However, this leave was limited to the extent necessary to give effect to the order granting judgment to the plaintiff on the counter-claim.