One Stop Warehouse Pty Ltd v Oldfield

FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

One Stop Warehouse Pty Ltd v Oldfield [2021] FCA 34

File number:

QUD 217 of 2020

Judgment of:

REEVES J

Date of judgment:

29 January 2021

Catchwords:

COSTS – application for costs by the respondent – where the applicant unsuccessfully applied for leave to appeal from a decision of the Federal Circuit Court of Australia – application dismissed

Legislation:

Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth)

Workplace Relations Act 1996 (Cth)

Cases cited:

Australian Building and Construction Commissioner v Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (The Costs of the Cup of Tea Case) [2019] FCAFC 36

Bomanite Pty Limited v Slatex Corp Aust Pty Limited (1991) 32 FCR 379

Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union v Clarke (2008) 170 FCR 574; [2008] FCAFC 143

Oldfield v One Stop Warehouse Pty Ltd & Ors [2020] FCCA 1865

Division:

Fair Work Division

Registry:

Queensland

National Practice Area:

Employment and Industrial Relations

Number of paragraphs:

9

Date of last submissions:

16 November 2020

Date of hearing:

4 November 2020

Counsel for the Applicants:

Mr MA Taylor

Solicitor for the Applicants:

MJT Law

Counsel for the Respondent:

Mr G Rebetzke

Solicitor for the Respondent:

Susan Moriarty & Associates

ORDERS

QUD 217 of 2020

BETWEEN:

ONE STOP WAREHOUSE PTY LTD ACN 161 849 323

First Applicant

ANSON ZHANG

Second Applicant

JEFFREY YU

Third Applicant

AND:

LIESA KAREN OLDFIELD

Respondent

ORDER MADE BY:	REEVES J
DATE OF ORDER:	29 JANUARY 2021

THE COURT ORDERS THAT:

1.The respondent’s oral application for costs of the first applicant’s application for leave to appeal is dismissed.

Note:   Entry of orders is dealt with in Rule 39.32 of the Federal Court Rules 2011.

REASONS FOR JUDGMENT

REEVES J:

1. After I delivered my ex tempore judgment in this matter on 4 November 2020, I made orders for the exchange of brief written submissions on Ms Liesa Oldfield’s (the respondent), oral application for costs of One Stop Warehouse Pty Ltd’s (the first applicant), unsuccessful application for leave to appeal the judgment of Jarrett J in the Federal Circuit Court of Australia (Oldfield v One Stop Warehouse Pty Ltd & Ors [2020] FCCA 1865).

2. In her written submissions, Ms Oldfield referred to s 570(2)(b) of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (the FWA) and to the Full Court decision in the Australian Building and Construction Commissioner v Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (The Costs of the Cup of Tea Case) [2019] FCAFC 36. Based thereon, she claimed that this was not a “mere case where a party pursued an argument ultimately rejected by the Court”. Instead, she contended, the pursuit of the application for leave to appeal by One Stop Warehouse in this matter was “misconceived” and “demonstrated an unreasonable failure to abide by the decision of the primary judge in what this Court observed to be a matter of practice and procedure”. As well, Ms Oldfield contended that, by making its application for leave to appeal, One Stop Warehouse caused delay in the substantive proceeding…