Hojaij v French

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QUEENSLAND CIVIL AND
ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL


CITATION:

Hojaij & Anor v French & Anor [2024] QCATA 130

PARTIES:

ROBERTO CARLOS HOJAIJ

(first appellant)

CBP - CLINIC OF BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY
ACN 165 640 951

(second appellant)

v

ZIPPORAH FRENCH

(first respondent)

PRESCRIBE PRACTICE MANAGEMENT PTY LTD
ACN 602 278 357

(second respondent)

APPLICATION NO:

APL019-24

ORIGINATING APPLICATION NO:

Q1602-2023

MATTER TYPE:

Appeals

DELIVERED ON:

10 December 2024

HEARING DATE:

On the papers

HEARD AT:

Brisbane

DECISION OF:

Judicial Member Stilgoe OAM

ORDERS:

1.     Leave to appeal is refused.

CATCHWORDS:

APPEAL AND NEW TRIAL – APPEAL – GENERAL PRINCIPLES – RIGHT OF APPEAL – WHEN APPEAL LIES – where the Tribunal awarded the appellant $6,000, being the amount offered and accepted in satisfaction of a claim for a full refund of a sum paid under a recruitment contract – where the appellant argued that the Tribunal should have awarded a refund of the sum paid under the recruitment contract – where the appellant conceded that he had accepted the offer of $6,000 in the original proceeding – where the appellant failed to point to any error by the Tribunal – where the Tribunal was entitled to find that the offer had been accepted – whether leave to appeal should be granted

ADMINISTRATIVE LAW – ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNALS – QUEENSLAND CIVIL AND ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL – where the appellant brought an application in the Tribunal’s minor civil disputes jurisdiction – where the Tribunal has jurisdiction to hear claims arising from consumer/trader contracts and trader/trader contracts – where the Tribunal has excluded those who practice in disciplines or professions not ordinarily regarded as being within the field of trade and commerce – where the appellant was a biological psychiatrist and the respondent was a recruitment service provider – where the appellant, if leave were granted, sought to argue a claim arising out of the parties’ contract – whether a claim under the contract was within the Tribunal’s minor civil disputes jurisdiction

Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2009 s 11, s 12, s 142, sch 3

Australian Broadcasting Commission v Bond (1990) 170 CLR 321

Dearman v Dearman (1908) 7 CLR 549
Early Property Group Pty Ltd t/a Early Group Valuers v Cavallaro [2010] QCATA 65
Fox v Percy (2003) 214 CLR 118
McDonald v Kenmore Podiatry Pty Ltd [2012] QCAT 126
Pickering v McArthur [2005] QCA 294
Pretia v Aknar (1996) 40 NSWLR 165
Robinson Helicopter Co Inc v McDermott (2016) 90 ALJR 679
Safe and Sound Building Society v SRJ Audit Pty Ltd [2015] QCATA 109
Terera & Anor v Clifford [2017] QCA 181
Waterford v The Commonwealth (1987) 163 CLR 54
Wong v Ong [2015] QCATA 51

APPEARANCES & REPRESENTATION:

This matter was heard and determined on the papers pursuant to s 32 of the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2009 (Qld)

REASONS FOR DECISION

  1. Roberto Hojaij contracted with Prescribe Practice Management to recruit a part time administrative employee in his medical practice, Biological Psychiatry Clinic. Prescribe recruited a candidate for the Clinic…

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Details
Case
[2024] QCATA 130
Decision Date

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The case of Hojaij v French involved an appeal against a decision of the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT). The appellant, Dr Hojaij, a biological psychiatrist, sought a full refund of an amount paid under a recruitment contract with the respondent, French, a recruitment service provider. The Tribunal awarded Dr Hojaij $6,000, the amount offered and accepted in satisfaction of his claim. Dr Hojaij argued that the Tribunal should have awarded a full refund, despite conceding that he had accepted the $6,000 offer in the original proceeding. The central legal issues were whether leave to appeal should be granted and whether the Tribunal had jurisdiction over the claim.

The court found that Dr Hojaij had failed to demonstrate any error by the Tribunal in its decision. The Tribunal was entitled to find that the offer of $6,000 had been accepted, as Dr Hojaij had not pointed to any error in the Tribunal's reasoning. Furthermore, the court held that the Tribunal had jurisdiction to hear claims arising from consumer/trader contracts and trader/trader contracts. The exclusion of claims from those who practice in disciplines or professions not ordinarily regarded as being within the field of trade and commerce did not apply to Dr Hojaij's claim. However, the court concluded that, given the lack of any demonstrated error, leave to appeal should be refused.

The final order of the court was that leave to appeal was refused. This decision underscores the importance of clearly demonstrating error in an appeal and the jurisdictional limits of administrative tribunals in certain types of contracts.

Orders

Orders of the court

1. Leave to appeal is refused.

Background

Background to the litigation

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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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