Jupiters Management Ltd v Ryan

STATE REPORTING BUREAU

TRANSCRIPT OF PROCEEDINGS

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[1992] QCA 111

COURT OF APPEAL

PINCUS JA DAVIES JA SHEPHERDSON J

Appeal No 52 of 1991

JUPITERS MANAGEMENT LIMITED	Appellant
v.
KATHLEEN ELIZABETH RYAN	Respondent
BRISBANE
... DATE 28/4/92
JUDGMENT

JUDGMENT

PINCUS JA: In this matter judgment was entered in the District Court on 11 June 1991 in favour of the respondent against the appellant in the sum of $212,885, with costs.

That judgment and the costs were subsequently paid. The judgment was paid, we are told, on the 26th day of June 1991.

The costs were paid in an agreed sum of $20,000. This Court subsequently allowed an appeal against the judgment and set aside the orders which I have mentioned and ordered that the case be retried.

The successful appellant seeks today an order that the sums which I have mentioned as having been paid by it to the respondent be repaid and it relies upon the cases mentioned by the High Court in The Commonwealth of Australia V. McCormack (1984) 155 CLR 273, at pp 276 and 277. Mr Grant Taylor who has appeared for the respondent today has but faintly resisted that application. It appears to us that the application should succeed, that the sums I have mentioned should be repaid and the larger sum with interest.

The only other question which was debated was the fate of the costs of the first trial. Mr Fraser has argued that the costs of the first trial should be the subject of a special order in view of the submissions made by Mr Grant Taylor below. We are not persuaded that there should be any departure from the usual practice and the costs of the first trial will abide the result of the second trial.

Therefore, in addition to the orders previously made it will be ordered as follows, that the respondent Kathleen Elizabeth Ryan repay to the appellant Jupiters Management Limited the sum of $212,885 paid in satisfaction of the judgment of the District Court together with interest on such sum at the rate of 12 per cent per annum from the 27th day of June 1991 until the date of repayment. It will be further ordered that the respondent repay to the appellant the sum of $20,000 paid in satisfaction of the order for costs made by the District Court. It will be further ordered that the costs of the first trial in the District Court abide the result of the second trial.

We are not inclined to make any order for the costs of today.

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CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the case of Jupiters Management Ltd v Ryan, the appellant, Jupiters Management Ltd, sought an order for the repayment of sums previously paid to the respondent, Kathleen Elizabeth Ryan, following a judgment in her favour. The judgment, entered in the District Court on 11 June 1991, awarded the respondent $212,885, with additional costs of $20,000, which were later paid. The Court of Appeal had previously set aside the original judgment and ordered a retrial. The appellant now sought repayment of the judgment sum and costs, relying on precedents set by the High Court in The Commonwealth of Australia V. McCormack.

The primary legal issue was whether the appellant was entitled to repayment of the judgment sum and costs paid to the respondent. The Court considered the precedent established by the High Court in The Commonwealth of Australia V. McCormack, which indicated that repayment of such sums should be ordered when a judgment is set aside. The respondent offered minimal resistance to the appellant's application, acknowledging the strength of the cited cases. The Court found that the appellant should indeed be repaid the sums, including interest from the date of payment until the date of repayment. The Court further considered the fate of the costs incurred during the first trial but decided that these should remain subject to the outcome of the retrial, in line with standard practice.

The Court ordered that Kathleen Elizabeth Ryan repay to Jupiters Management Ltd the sum of $212,885, with interest at 12% per annum from 27 June 1991 until the date of repayment. Additionally, she was ordered to repay $20,000, the amount previously paid as costs. The costs of the first trial would remain pending the outcome of the second trial. The Court declined to make any order for the costs of the current proceedings.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

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Legal Principle Established