Henderson v The Body Corporate for Merrimac Heights

Henderson and another were engaged by the Body Corporate for Merrimac Heights to provide caretaking and landscape maintenance services under two written agreements. The agreements were assigned to the plaintiffs, with the duration extended until 14 April 2022. The body corporate disputed the enforceability of the agreements and denied that any damages were payable. The court was required to determine whether the plaintiffs breached or repudiated the agreements, whether the agreements were enforceable against the body corporate, and whether the plaintiffs were entitled to damages for lost profits under the landscape maintenance agreement.

The court found that there was no evidence that the plaintiffs breached or repudiated the agreements. It further found that the landscape maintenance agreement was not terminated by agreement of the parties. The court also found that the body corporate had the power to enter into the agreements and that the agreements were not beyond its powers. The court concluded that it had jurisdiction to hear the matter, despite an earlier failed application to the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT).

The court declared that both the caretaking and landscape maintenance agreements were valid and enforceable as contracts between the plaintiffs and the body corporate. Judgment was entered for the plaintiffs in the sum of $59,200, representing lost profits under the landscape maintenance agreement.