Merrin v Cairns Port Authority - [2006] QCA 278

SUPREME COURT OF QUEENSLAND

CITATION:

Merrin & Anor v Cairns Port Authority [2006] QCA 278

PARTIES:

ANNETTE ELIZABETH MERRIN
(applicant/appellant)
THOMAS WILLIAM MERRIN
(applicant/appellant)
v
CAIRNS PORT AUTHORITY
(respondent/respondent)

FILE NO/S:

Appeal No 6371 of 2005
SC No 317 of 2005

DIVISION:

Court of Appeal

PROCEEDING:

General Civil Appeal

ORIGINATING COURT:

Supreme Court at Cairns

DELIVERED ON:

4 August 2006

DELIVERED AT:

Brisbane

HEARING DATE:

27 July 2006

JUDGES:

de Jersey CJ, Williams and Holmes JJA
Judgment of the Court

ORDER:

Appeal dismissed with costs

CATCHWORDS:

COURTS AND JUDGES GENERALLY – COURTS – ATTEMPT TO OUST JURISDICTION OF COURT – where the appellants applied to have a re-trial of the initial proceeding transferred from the District Court to the Supreme Court – the appellants sought to add claims for personal injury in addition to existing claims for property damage – whether the personal injury claims are of such a quantum that the District Court does not have jurisdiction to hear and determine the matter

District Court of Queensland Act 1967 (Qld), s 68, s 82

Brunsden v Humphrey (1884) 14 QBD 141, applied
Re Lovell, unreported, Lee M, SC No 587 of 1983, 5 August 1983, applied
Remote Data Systems Pty Ltd & Ors v Hoover & Ors [2000] QCA 116; Appeal No 5161 of 1999, 7 April 2000, applied

COUNSEL:

The appellants appeared on their own behalf
A R Philp SC for the respondent

SOLICITORS:

The appellants appeared on their own behalf
MacDonnells Solicitors (Cairns) for the respondent

THE COURT: This appeal is the latest episode in the ongoing saga of litigation between the Merrins ("the appellants") and the Cairns Port Authority ("the respondent") consequent upon the sinking of the catamaran owned by the appellants on 28 March 1997 in the waters of Trinity Inlet.

A jury trial claiming damages for the loss of the vessel proceeded in the District Court at Cairns in 2000 and ended in judgment for the present respondent. The appellants successfully appealed and a retrial was ordered: Merrin & Anor v Cairns Port Authority [2001] QCA 178.

This is an appeal from a decision of Jones J on 3 August 2005 dismissing the application by the appellants to have their proceeding, the retrial, transferred from the District Court to the Supreme Court. The application was based on the fact that the appellants wished to include in their existing proceeding, claims for damages for personal injury sustained by each. It was contended that the totality of the three claims would take the total beyond the jurisdiction of the District Court.

In support of the application the appellants (who for some years now have been appearing on their own behalf) drafted a statement of claim for use in proceedings in the Supreme Court; the amount claimed, covering the three causes of action, was $1,456,000.

Pursuant to s 68 of the District Court of Queensland Act 1967 (Qld) the District Court has jurisdiction to hear and determine all personal actions where the damages…

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.

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Details

Case: [2006] QCA 278
Decision Date: 4 August 2006

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The case of Merrin v Cairns Port Authority involved an application by the appellants to transfer a retrial from the District Court of Queensland to the Supreme Court. The appellants sought to add claims for personal injury alongside existing claims for property damage. The primary issue was whether the addition of personal injury claims, given their quantum, rendered the District Court without jurisdiction to hear the matter. The Supreme Court was called upon to decide if the District Court could adequately address the personal injury claims alongside the property damage claims.

The court considered whether the addition of the personal injury claims fundamentally altered the nature of the proceeding, thus requiring a transfer to the Supreme Court. The appellants argued that the personal injury claims, if successful, would significantly exceed the monetary limit of the District Court's jurisdiction. The court examined the quantum of the personal injury claims and determined that, while the claims were indeed substantial, they did not, by themselves, necessitate a transfer to the Supreme Court. The court held that the District Court retained the authority to hear and determine the entire matter, including the personal injury claims, without the need for a transfer.

Having reviewed the arguments and the applicable jurisdictional limits, the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal. The court found that the District Court could adequately manage both the property damage and personal injury claims, and thus there was no basis for the transfer. The appellants' application was dismissed with costs awarded against them.

Orders

Orders of the court

Appeal dismissed with costs

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:	Merrin & Anor v Cairns Port Authority [2006] QCA 278
PARTIES:	ANNETTE ELIZABETH MERRIN (applicant/appellant) THOMAS WILLIAM MERRIN (applicant/appellant) v CAIRNS PORT AUTHORITY (respondent/respondent)
FILE NO/S:	Appeal No 6371 of 2005 SC No 317 of 2005
DIVISION:	Court of Appeal
PROCEEDING:	General Civil Appeal
ORIGINATING COURT:	Supreme Court at Cairns
DELIVERED ON:	4 August 2006
DELIVERED AT:	Brisbane
HEARING DATE:	27 July 2006
JUDGES:	de Jersey CJ, Williams and Holmes JJA Judgment of the Court
ORDER:	Appeal dismissed with costs
CATCHWORDS:	COURTS AND JUDGES GENERALLY – COURTS – ATTEMPT TO OUST JURISDICTION OF COURT – where the appellants applied to have a re-trial of the initial proceeding transferred from the District Court to the Supreme Court – the appellants sought to add claims for personal injury in addition to existing claims for property damage – whether the personal injury claims are of such a quantum that the District Court does not have jurisdiction to hear and determine the matter District Court of Queensland Act 1967 (Qld), s 68, s 82 Brunsden v Humphrey (1884) 14 QBD 141, applied Re Lovell, unreported, Lee M, SC No 587 of 1983, 5 August 1983, applied Remote Data Systems Pty Ltd & Ors v Hoover & Ors [2000] QCA 116; Appeal No 5161 of 1999, 7 April 2000, applied
COUNSEL:	The appellants appeared on their own behalf A R Philp SC for the respondent
SOLICITORS:	The appellants appeared on their own behalf MacDonnells Solicitors (Cairns) for the respondent