Harris v Evans Built Pty Ltd - [2025] QSC 104

SUPREME COURT OF QUEENSLAND

CITATION:

Harris v Evans Built Pty Ltd [2025] QSC 104

PARTIES:

MARK HARRIS

(plaintiff)

v
EVANS BUILT PTY LTD (ACN 120 743 099)

(first defendant)

QLD TILT PANELS PTY LTD (ACN 610 865 239)
(second defendant)

FILE NO/S:

BS 9931/22

DIVISION:

Trial Division

PROCEEDING:

Application

ORIGINATING COURT:

Supreme Court of Queensland

DELIVERED ON:

20 May 2025

DELIVERED AT:

Brisbane

HEARING DATE:

8 May 2025

JUDGE:

Treston J

ORDER:

1.   The plaintiff is granted leave to include Assured Concreting Services Pty Ltd as a third defendant in the proceeding.

2.   The plaintiff is granted leave to amend the claim and statement of claim to reflect the inclusion of Assured Concreting Services Pty Ltd as the third defendant in the proceedings.

3.   The limitation period applicable to the plaintiff’s claim against Assured Concreting Services Pty Ltd for injuries sustained on 25 August 2019 be extended to a date 14 days after the order of the court.

CATCHWORDS:

LIMITATION OF ACTIONS – EXTENSION OR POSTPONEMENT OF LIMITATION PERIODS – EXTENSION OF TIME IN PERSONAL INJURIES MATTERS – KNOWLEDGE OF MATERIAL FACTS OF DECISIVE CHARACTER – GENERALLY – where the plaintiff suffered injuries at a worksite – where the plaintiff contends he became aware of the contractual relationships between relevant parties out of time – where the plaintiff applies to extend the limitation period – whether the plaintiff had knowledge of the contractual relationships between relevant parties within the limitation period – whether the contractual relationships between relevant parties constitutes a material fact of a decisive character – whether the plaintiff had taken all reasonable steps to find out the contractual relationships between the relevant parties before such information was disclosed to him – whether the extension of the limitation period should be granted

Personal Injuries Proceedings Act 2002 (Qld), ss 14, 16, 18, 20, 27, 37, 43, 59
Limitations of Actions Act 1974 (Qld), ss 11, 30, 31
Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 1999 (Qld), rr 69, 169, 377
Workers Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003 (Qld), ss 279, 290A

Anderson v Gofish Pty Ltd & Ors [2017] QSC 30
Brisbane South Regional Health Authority v Taylor (1996) 186 CLR 541
Dick v University of Queensland [2000] 2 Qd R 476
Do Carmo v Ford Excavations Pty Ltd (1984) 154 CLR 234
Moriarty v Sunbeam Corporation Limited [1988] 2 Qd R 325
NF v State of Queensland [2005] QCA 110
Sugden v Crawford [1989] 1 Qd R 683
Wolverson v Todman [2016] 2 Qd R 106

COUNSEL:

G Barr for the applicant/plaintiff
K Horsley for the respondent

SOLICITORS:

Travis Schultz Lawyers for the applicant/plaintiff
HBM Lawyers for the respondent

Introduction

On 9 January 2025 the plaintiff brought an application for the following orders:
(a)the plaintiff be granted leave to include Assured Concreting Services Pty Ltd (Assured) as a third defendant in the proceeding despite non-compliance with Chapter 2 Part 1 of the Personal Injuries Proceedings Act 2002 (Qld) (PIPA). The source of the power to seek that…

Grounds of appeal

[14] The appellant contends that the primary judge erred in finding that the respondent had discharged the onus of establishing the matters required under the relevant provision.

[15] It was submitted that his Honour failed to give adequate weight to the evidence of the second witness, and that the findings of fact were not reasonably open on the material before the Court.

[16] The respondent, for its part, submits that no error is disclosed, and that the conclusions reached were well within the range of outcomes available to the primary judge.

Consideration

[17] It is convenient to deal first with the question of construction, as the resolution of that issue informs the remaining grounds advanced by the appellant.

[18] For the reasons that follow, we are of the view that the appeal should be allowed in part and the matter remitted for further determination.

Continue reading Harris v Evans Built Pty Ltd

Details

AGLC: Harris v Evans Built Pty Ltd [2025] QSC 104
Case: [2025] QSC 104
Decision Date: 20 May 2025

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the case of Harris v Evans Built Pty Ltd, the plaintiff, Harris, sought an extension of the limitation period for his personal injury claim against Evans Built Pty Ltd. The plaintiff had initially identified Evans Built and Qld Tilt Panels Pty Ltd as the head contractor and his employer respectively, but later sought to amend his claim to include Assured Concreting Services Pty Ltd as the third defendant. The court was required to decide whether the plaintiff had knowledge of the material facts of a decisive character within the limitation period and whether the extension of the limitation period should be granted.

The court found that the plaintiff had taken all reasonable steps to find out the contractual relationships between the relevant parties before such information was disclosed to him, and that the contractual relationships between the relevant parties constituted a material fact of a decisive character. The court also found that the plaintiff had not taken all reasonable steps to find out the contractual relationships between the relevant parties before such information was disclosed to him, and that the contractual relationships between the relevant parties constituted a material fact of a decisive character. The court held that the plaintiff had not taken all reasonable steps to find out the contractual relationships between the relevant parties before such information was disclosed to him, and that the contractual relationships between the relevant parties constituted a material fact of a decisive character.

The court granted the plaintiff leave to include Assured Concreting Services Pty Ltd as a third defendant in the proceeding and to amend the claim and statement of claim to reflect the inclusion of Assured Concreting Services Pty Ltd as the third defendant in the proceedings. The limitation period applicable to the plaintiff’s claim against Assured Concreting Services Pty Ltd for injuries sustained on 25 August 2019 was extended to a date 14 days after the order of the court.

Orders

Orders of the court

1. The plaintiff is granted leave to include Assured Concreting Services Pty Ltd as a third defendant in the proceeding.

2. The plaintiff is granted leave to amend the claim and statement of claim to reflect the inclusion of Assured Concreting Services Pty Ltd as the third defendant in the proceedings.

3. The limitation period applicable to the plaintiff’s claim against Assured Concreting Services Pty Ltd for injuries sustained on 25 August 2019 be extended to a date 14 days after the order of the court.

Background

Background to the litigation

The first and second defendants were served with the application and, prior to the hearing before me, were authorised by a Judge of this court not to appear upon the application as neither of them opposed it.Background to the proceeding The plaintiff’s evidence, in an affidavit sworn 29 April 2025, was that he was injured on 23 August 2019 when a trench collapsed on him at a work site at Rothwell. He identified the first defendant, Evans Built Pty Ltd (Evans Built) as the head contractor on the site and the second defendant, Qld Tilt Panels Pty Ltd as trustee for the Qld Tilt Panels Family Trust, as his employer (Qld Tilt Panels). In contrast to that evidence, the plaintiff gave a statement to Workplace Health and Safety Inspector on 29 August 2019, that is less than a week after his accident, describing that he was employed as a site foreman by Assured Concrete Services Pty Ltd (who he thereafter referred to as ACS), of 27 Kooringal Court, Buddina, and had been for a period of greater than six years. That statement identified Evans Built as the principal contractor on the site and described that ACS were conducting work on the site under the direction of the principal contractor. I pause to observe that the evidence demonstrates:(a)there is no such company as Assured Concrete Services Pty Ltd, nor is there any such business name. There is however a company, Assured Concreting Services Pty Ltd, whose place of business is 27 Kooringal Court, Buddina; and(b)the plaintiff was never employed by Assured, his employer was the second defendant. Those errors can be explained by further evidence. When the plaintiff started working in 2013 as a concreter and foreman, the business was trading under the name “Assured Concreting Services”. Between 2013 and 2 March 2016, the plaintiff understood that his actual employer was “The Trustee for Integral Concreting Services Family Trust”, but the business traded under the name “Assured Concreting Services”. The plaintiff always knew the person who carried on the business was Nicholas Chabau. Sometime after 2 March 2016, the plaintiff was told by Mr Chabau that the name of the employer was to be changed to “The Trustee for the Qld Tilt Family Panels Trust”, and the reason was something to do with payroll tax. The business however continued to be known as Assured Concreting Services. There was no change to that trading name during the whole period that the plaintiff was employed there. The plaintiff says that he wore a work shirt and drove a work vehicle that each displayed the trading name “Assured Concreting Services”. Production of the plaintiff’s taxation records demonstrates that in the period 1 July 2015 to 2 March 2016, the plaintiff’s employer was identified as “The Trustee for Integral Concreting Services Family Trust (ABN 29 584 334 198)”. On 2 March 2016 the taxation records demonstrate the name of the employer changed to “The Trustee for the Qld Tilt Panels Family Trust (ABN 29 470 806 062)”. The plaintiff remained employed by that employer until the time of his accident.

Evidence

Evidence Before The Court

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Decision

Reasons for decision

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Ratio Decidendi

Legal Principle Established

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CITATION:	Harris v Evans Built Pty Ltd [2025] QSC 104
PARTIES:	MARK HARRIS (plaintiff) v EVANS BUILT PTY LTD (ACN 120 743 099) (first defendant) QLD TILT PANELS PTY LTD (ACN 610 865 239) (second defendant)
FILE NO/S:	BS 9931/22
DIVISION:	Trial Division
PROCEEDING:	Application
ORIGINATING COURT:	Supreme Court of Queensland
DELIVERED ON:	20 May 2025
DELIVERED AT:	Brisbane
HEARING DATE:	8 May 2025
JUDGE:	Treston J
ORDER:	1. The plaintiff is granted leave to include Assured Concreting Services Pty Ltd as a third defendant in the proceeding. 2. The plaintiff is granted leave to amend the claim and statement of claim to reflect the inclusion of Assured Concreting Services Pty Ltd as the third defendant in the proceedings. 3. The limitation period applicable to the plaintiff’s claim against Assured Concreting Services Pty Ltd for injuries sustained on 25 August 2019 be extended to a date 14 days after the order of the court.
CATCHWORDS:	LIMITATION OF ACTIONS – EXTENSION OR POSTPONEMENT OF LIMITATION PERIODS – EXTENSION OF TIME IN PERSONAL INJURIES MATTERS – KNOWLEDGE OF MATERIAL FACTS OF DECISIVE CHARACTER – GENERALLY – where the plaintiff suffered injuries at a worksite – where the plaintiff contends he became aware of the contractual relationships between relevant parties out of time – where the plaintiff applies to extend the limitation period – whether the plaintiff had knowledge of the contractual relationships between relevant parties within the limitation period – whether the contractual relationships between relevant parties constitutes a material fact of a decisive character – whether the plaintiff had taken all reasonable steps to find out the contractual relationships between the relevant parties before such information was disclosed to him – whether the extension of the limitation period should be granted Personal Injuries Proceedings Act 2002 (Qld), ss 14, 16, 18, 20, 27, 37, 43, 59 Limitations of Actions Act 1974 (Qld), ss 11, 30, 31 Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 1999 (Qld), rr 69, 169, 377 Workers Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003 (Qld), ss 279, 290A Anderson v Gofish Pty Ltd & Ors [2017] QSC 30 Brisbane South Regional Health Authority v Taylor (1996) 186 CLR 541 Dick v University of Queensland [2000] 2 Qd R 476 Do Carmo v Ford Excavations Pty Ltd (1984) 154 CLR 234 Moriarty v Sunbeam Corporation Limited [1988] 2 Qd R 325 NF v State of Queensland [2005] QCA 110 Sugden v Crawford [1989] 1 Qd R 683 Wolverson v Todman [2016] 2 Qd R 106
COUNSEL:	G Barr for the applicant/plaintiff K Horsley for the respondent
SOLICITORS:	Travis Schultz Lawyers for the applicant/plaintiff HBM Lawyers for the respondent