Perpetual Ltd v Latham

Perpetual Limited filed an application in the Supreme Court of Queensland against Courtney Maree Latham, seeking substituted service of the originating process. The dispute involved a failure to personally serve the first defendant on multiple occasions as required by rule 105 of the Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 1999 (Qld). The central legal issue was whether the court should allow substituted service under rule 116 of the UCPR when personal service had been unsuccessfully attempted six times.

The court considered the criteria for substituted service under the UCPR, focusing on the applicant's diligent attempts to effect personal service. The court noted that the plaintiff had made six separate attempts to serve the first defendant personally, all of which were unsuccessful. Given the repeated failures, the court found that the plaintiff had made sufficient efforts to personally serve the defendant, thereby satisfying the prerequisites for seeking substituted service. The court ruled that the requirement for personal service should be dispensed with and granted permission for substituted service by registered and prepaid post, deeming service to be effective four days after posting. The court also ordered that the plaintiff’s costs of the application be the plaintiff’s costs in the proceeding.

In summary, the court granted the plaintiff's application for substituted service, allowing service by registered and prepaid post, and ordered that the plaintiff’s costs of the application be the plaintiff’s costs in the proceeding. This decision provided clarity on the criteria for substituted service in cases where personal service has repeatedly failed.