Rapid Roofing P/L v Natalise P/L (as trustee for the St Ange Family Trust)

In this case, Rapid Roofing P/L, the appellant, sought to amend the costs order made in the District Court of Queensland against Natalise P/L, the respondent, which was acting as trustee for the St Ange Family Trust. The original proceedings involved a dispute related to roofing services, and the appellant was successful on appeal. The court ordered the respondent to pay 75% of the appellant’s costs of the trial. However, the appellant now sought to vary this order to include the costs of the entire proceedings in the District Court, not just the trial costs.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether the original order regarding costs constituted a mere "slip" or error, which would warrant a variation under r 667(2)(d) of the Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 1999 (Qld). The court considered the time elapsed since the judgment—18 months—and whether the circumstances justified the exercise of its discretion to correct the order. The court found that the appellant's delay in bringing the application and the significant passage of time since the original judgment weighed against the exercise of this discretion.

The court dismissed the application for variation, holding that the circumstances did not warrant an amendment to the original costs order. The appellant's delay in seeking the variation and the considerable time elapsed since the original judgment rendered it unjust to vary the order. Consequently, the court ordered that the appellant pay the respondent's costs of this application, to be assessed on the standard basis.