Karam v Chau's & Son Pty Ltd

The appeal before the court involved Karam as the appellant and Chau's & Son Pty Ltd as the respondent. The nature of the dispute was the appellant's application to stay a decision made by an adjudicator, which had ordered the respondent to pay a sum of money in relation to a building dispute. The Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT) was the court that heard the appeal.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether the appellant's application to stay the adjudicator's decision should be granted. The court considered whether the grounds for granting a stay were met, specifically whether the adjudicator's decision raised jurisdictional issues. The appellant argued that the adjudicator had ordered payment of money where the claim was a building dispute seeking a debt or liquidated demand, and that the adjudicator had not complied with section 77(2) of the Queensland Building and Construction Commission Act 1991 (Qld). The court also considered whether section 61 of the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2009 (Qld) was available to the appellant.

The court found that the grounds for granting a stay were met, as the adjudicator's decision raised jurisdictional issues. The court held that the adjudicator had not complied with section 77(2) of the Queensland Building and Construction Commission Act 1991 (Qld), which required the adjudicator to give reasons for their decision. The court also found that section 61 of the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2009 (Qld) was available to the appellant, as it provided for the stay of proceedings pending the determination of an appeal. The court therefore granted the appellant's application to stay the adjudicator's decision.

The court made an order granting the appellant's application to stay the decision dated 23 April 2020 in MCDO60618/20 (Brisbane) pending the determination of APL169-20. The court also ordered that the respondent pay the appellant's costs of the appeal, to be paid within 14 days.