Pejama Pty Ltd v The Commissioner of Main Roads

In the Land Court of Brisbane, the case of Pejama Pty Ltd v The Commissioner of Main Roads addressed the issue of compensation following land acquisition by the Commissioner. The claimant, Pejama Pty Ltd, sought interest on the determined compensation of $83,200 from the date of land acquisition up until settlement, while the Commissioner argued that interest should not be paid for the period between the initial hearing date and the final hearing date, which included several adjournments.

The legal issues before the court revolved around the discretion of the court under Section 28 of the relevant Act to award interest on compensation and the appropriate rate of interest to be applied. The Commissioner contended that the claimant could have proceeded with the hearing on the originally scheduled date, thereby avoiding the adjournments, and that paying interest during this period would place an unreasonable burden on the Commissioner. The claimant, on the other hand, sought interest at a rate reflective of borrowing costs.

The court accepted the Commissioner's submission that interest should not accrue during the period of the adjournments. However, the court determined that interest should be paid at a rate comparable to returns from gilt-edged securities rather than borrowing rates, as requested by the claimant. Consequently, the court ordered interest at a rate of 12.75% per annum on the full compensation amount from the date of resumption up until the date of the first hearing, and on the remaining amount from the final hearing date until the date of payment. In terms of costs, the court found that an order for costs on a party and party basis would be reasonable, and granted the Commissioner costs related to the adjournment and the overall hearing, to be assessed by the Supreme Court's Taxing Officer.