Lawman v Queensland Building Services Authority (No 2)

The case of Lawman v Queensland Building Services Authority (No 2) involved the plaintiff, a bankrupt, suing the first respondent, the Queensland Building Services Authority (QBSA), and the second respondent, the Queensland Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), in the Federal Circuit Court. The plaintiff, Mr Lawman, sought to recover damages for alleged defamation and malicious prosecution against the QBSA, as well as malicious prosecution against the DPP. The dispute centred around the bankrupt's claim that the QBSA and the DPP had acted maliciously in pursuing criminal proceedings against him, which led to his eventual bankruptcy.

The legal issues before the court included whether the bankrupt could maintain his claim against the respondents and, if so, whether the respondents were entitled to immunity from the claim. The court also needed to determine the costs associated with the proceedings and the priority in which they should be paid from the bankrupt's estate.

The court held that the bankrupt had standing to bring the claim but that the QBSA was immune from the defamation claim as it was a statutory body performing its statutory functions. The court further found that the DPP was immune from the malicious prosecution claim as the decision to prosecute was a prosecutorial function protected by immunity. The court determined that the bankrupt's claim against the respondents was without merit and ordered that the respondents' costs be paid out of the bankrupt's estate. The first respondent's costs were to be paid with the same priority as the trustee's costs under the Bankruptcy Act 1966 (Cth), while the second respondent's costs were to be paid without any specific priority.