Devitt v Nominal Defendant

The case of Devitt v Nominal Defendant involved a dispute over costs in the context of a motor accident insurance claim under the Motor Accident Insurance Act 1994 (Qld). The proceedings were held in the District Court of Queensland. The plaintiff, Devitt, sought to recover costs incurred during the litigation process from the defendant, Nominal Defendant.

The legal issues before the court primarily revolved around the assessment and apportionment of costs in relation to proceedings governed by the Motor Accident Insurance Act 1994 (Qld), and the application of the Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 1999 (Qld), rule 361. The court needed to determine the appropriate scale for assessing costs under the circumstances of the case, particularly given that the sum recovered by the plaintiff exceeded a certain threshold.

The court's reasoning was influenced by the decision in Griffiths v Kerkemeyer, which provided guidance on the principles of costs apportionment in litigation. The court held that the costs incurred by the plaintiff up to a certain date should be assessed on the District Court scale, while any costs incurred thereafter should be assessed on the Supreme Court scale. The court determined that the plaintiff was entitled to recover the costs of the proceeding up to and including 14 June 2005, to be assessed on the District Court scale where the sum recovered exceeds $50,000. Conversely, the defendant was ordered to pay the plaintiff’s costs up to that date, and the plaintiff was directed to pay the defendant’s costs incurred thereafter, assessed on the Supreme Court scale.