Duffy v Hepron Pty Ltd

The case of Duffy v Hepron Pty Ltd involved a dispute between the plaintiff, Duffy, and the defendant, Hepron Pty Ltd. Duffy sought interest on a judgement sum and indemnity costs after refusing a settlement offer from Hepron. The matter was heard in the Queensland Supreme Court. The legal issues in the case centred on the application of Uniform Civil Procedure Rule (Qld) r 360 and whether Hepron was entitled to an award of costs on the indemnity basis after offering to settle the proceedings.

The court examined whether r 360 of the Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 1999 (Qld) applied to Hepron, given that Duffy had refused their settlement offer and ultimately recovered less at trial. The court also considered whether Hepron was entitled to indemnity costs due to Duffy's refusal of the settlement offer. The court found that the rule did apply to Hepron, and that Hepron was entitled to an award of costs on the indemnity basis.

In reaching its decision, the court considered the statutory provision of Supreme Court Act 1995 (Qld), s47, which governs costs in the Supreme Court of Queensland. The court determined that Hepron was entitled to indemnity costs as they had offered to settle the proceedings, and Duffy had refused the offer and recovered less at trial. The court awarded interest on the judgement sum in the amount of $16,404.79 and ordered Duffy to pay Hepron's costs of and incidental to the proceedings to be assessed on the indemnity basis.