Loader v Moreton Bay Regional Council - [2013] QCA 308

SUPREME COURT OF QUEENSLAND

CITATION:

Loader v Moreton Bay Regional Council [2013] QCA 308

PARTIES:

HEATHER LORRAINE LOADER
(applicant)
v
MORETON BAY REGIONAL COUNCIL
(respondent)

FILE NO/S:

Appeal No 1099 of 2013
P & E Appeal No 237 of 2009

DIVISION:

Court of Appeal

PROCEEDING:

Application for Leave Sustainable Planning Act – Further Order

ORIGINATING COURT:

Planning and Environment Court at Brisbane

DELIVERED ON:

11 October 2013

DELIVERED AT:

Brisbane

HEARING DATE:

Heard on the papers

JUDGES:

Muir and Fraser JJA and Applegarth J
Judgment of the Court

ORDER:

No order as to costs in the Planning and Environment Court.

CATCHWORDS:

APPEAL AND NEW TRIAL – APPEAL – PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE – QUEENSLAND – POWERS OF COURT – COSTS – where the applicant was granted leave to appeal and the appeal was allowed with costs – where the parties were given leave to make submissions as to the appropriate orders concerning costs of the appeal to the Planning and Environment Court – where the applicant submitted that the respondent should pay her costs of the appeal to that court as the proceedings were frivolous or vexatious and the respondent had not properly discharged its responsibilities – where the respondent opposed an order as to costs of that appeal – whether there should be an order as to costs of the appeal to the Planning and Environment Court

Integrated Planning Act 1997 (Qld), s 4.1.23

Loader v Moreton Bay Regional Council[2013] QCA 269, related

COUNSEL:

No appearance by the applicant, the applicant’s submissions were heard on the papers
No appearance by the respondent, the respondent’s submissions were heard on the papers

SOLICITORS:

Butler McDermott Lawyers for the applicant
Thomsons Lawyers for the respondent

THE COURT: On 20 September 2013 the Court granted the applicant’s application for leave to appeal, allowed the appeal with costs, set aside orders made in the Planning and Environment Court, and instead allowed the appeal to that Court and set aside an enforcement notice issued by the respondent to the appellant under the Integrated Planning Act 1997.[1] Leave was granted to the parties to make submissions in accordance with the Practice Direction about the appropriate orders, if any, concerning costs of the appeal to the Planning and Environment Court. The applicant submitted that the respondent should pay her costs of that appeal. The respondent opposed such an order.
[1][2013] QCA 269.

It is not in issue that the costs of the appeal to the Planning and Environment Court are regulated by s 4.1.23 of the Integrated Planning Act 1997, notwithstanding the repeal of that Act. Subsection (1) provides that “[e]ach party to a proceeding in the court must bear the party’s own costs for the proceeding.” Subsection (2) sets out a list of circumstances in respect of which “the court may order costs for the proceeding … as it considers appropriate”. The paragraphs upon which the applicant relies are (b) (“the court considers the proceeding (or part of the proceeding) to have been…

Grounds of appeal

[14] The appellant contends that the primary judge erred in finding that the respondent had discharged the onus of establishing the matters required under the relevant provision.

[15] It was submitted that his Honour failed to give adequate weight to the evidence of the second witness, and that the findings of fact were not reasonably open on the material before the Court.

[16] The respondent, for its part, submits that no error is disclosed, and that the conclusions reached were well within the range of outcomes available to the primary judge.

Consideration

[17] It is convenient to deal first with the question of construction, as the resolution of that issue informs the remaining grounds advanced by the appellant.

[18] For the reasons that follow, we are of the view that the appeal should be allowed in part and the matter remitted for further determination.

Keep reading for free

Create a free CaseChat account to read Loader v Moreton Bay Regional Council and more:

Read every judgment in full
Ask AI and get answers linked to paragraphs
See how each paragraph was cited in later cases
Download judgments as PDF or Word

Continue with Google

One click creates your free account or signs you in.

By continuing you agree to the Terms and Privacy Policy.

Details

Case: [2013] QCA 308
Decision Date: 11 October 2013

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The appeal in Loader v Moreton Bay Regional Council involved the applicant seeking leave to appeal a decision of the Planning and Environment Court and the subsequent determination of that appeal. The dispute centred around the imposition of costs relating to the appeal process. The respondent, Moreton Bay Regional Council, had opposed any order regarding the costs of the appeal to the Planning and Environment Court, while the applicant argued that the respondent should bear the costs as the proceedings were frivolous or vexatious and the respondent had not properly discharged its responsibilities.

The central legal issue before the court was whether an order should be made for the respondent to pay the applicant's costs of the appeal to the Planning and Environment Court. The applicant contended that the appeal was without merit and that the respondent's actions justified the imposition of costs. The respondent argued against such an order, asserting that the proceedings were not frivolous and that it had fulfilled its obligations appropriately.

The court considered the arguments presented by both parties and ultimately determined that there should be no order regarding the costs of the appeal to the Planning and Environment Court. The court found that the appeal did not warrant the imposition of costs against the respondent, and therefore, the respondent would not be ordered to pay the applicant's costs of that appeal. This decision was based on the court's assessment of the merits of the appeal and the conduct of the parties involved.

Orders

Orders of the court

No order as to costs in the Planning and Environment Court.

Background

Background to the litigation

Full text does not contain this section.

Evidence

Evidence Before The Court

Full text does not contain this section.

Decision

Reasons for decision

Full text does not contain this section.

Ratio Decidendi

Legal Principle Established

Full text does not contain this section.

CITATION:	Loader v Moreton Bay Regional Council [2013] QCA 308
PARTIES:	HEATHER LORRAINE LOADER (applicant) v MORETON BAY REGIONAL COUNCIL (respondent)
FILE NO/S:	Appeal No 1099 of 2013 P & E Appeal No 237 of 2009
DIVISION:	Court of Appeal
PROCEEDING:	Application for Leave Sustainable Planning Act – Further Order
ORIGINATING COURT:	Planning and Environment Court at Brisbane
DELIVERED ON:	11 October 2013
DELIVERED AT:	Brisbane
HEARING DATE:	Heard on the papers
JUDGES:	Muir and Fraser JJA and Applegarth J Judgment of the Court
ORDER:	No order as to costs in the Planning and Environment Court.
CATCHWORDS:	APPEAL AND NEW TRIAL – APPEAL – PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE – QUEENSLAND – POWERS OF COURT – COSTS – where the applicant was granted leave to appeal and the appeal was allowed with costs – where the parties were given leave to make submissions as to the appropriate orders concerning costs of the appeal to the Planning and Environment Court – where the applicant submitted that the respondent should pay her costs of the appeal to that court as the proceedings were frivolous or vexatious and the respondent had not properly discharged its responsibilities – where the respondent opposed an order as to costs of that appeal – whether there should be an order as to costs of the appeal to the Planning and Environment Court Integrated Planning Act 1997 (Qld), s 4.1.23 Loader v Moreton Bay Regional Council[2013] QCA 269, related
COUNSEL:	No appearance by the applicant, the applicant’s submissions were heard on the papers No appearance by the respondent, the respondent’s submissions were heard on the papers
SOLICITORS:	Butler McDermott Lawyers for the applicant Thomsons Lawyers for the respondent