Mackay Reef Fish Supplies Pty Ltd v Vicary and Anor [No 2]

Mackay Reef Fish Supplies Pty Ltd v Vicary and Anor [No 2] involved a dispute over land under the Torrens title system in Queensland. The case was heard in the Supreme Court, where the plaintiff sought to amend its claim and statement of claim. The defendants argued that the plaintiff could not prove its claims by any admissible evidence and sought to have the claim and statement of claim struck out. Additionally, the defendants argued that a caveat lodged by one of the defendants should be cancelled as the underlying claim had been struck out.

The central legal issues in the case were whether the plaintiff had shown sufficient cause for why its claim and statement of claim should not be struck out, and whether the Registrar of Titles should cancel a caveat lodged by one of the defendants. The court had to consider the requirements for leave to amend a pleading and the circumstances under which a claim could be struck out. The court also had to consider the effect of a struck-out claim on a related caveat under section 126 of the Land Title Act 1994 (Qld).

The court dismissed the plaintiff’s application for leave to amend the claim and statement of claim. The court found that the plaintiff had not shown sufficient cause for why the claim and statement of claim should not be struck out. The court also found that the caveat lodged by one of the defendants should be cancelled as the underlying claim had been struck out. The court ordered that the claim and statement of claim be struck out and that the plaintiff could not charge the defendants any costs for these proceedings.