Rodriguez & Sons Pty Ltd v Queensland Bulk Water Supply Authority trading as Seqwater (No 20)

Rodriguez & Sons Pty Ltd brought an action against the Queensland Bulk Water Supply Authority trading as Seqwater in the Supreme Court of Queensland, alleging that the Authority had breached its contractual obligations to the plaintiff by failing to supply water as promised under their agreement. The plaintiff sought damages for the financial losses it incurred as a result of the Authority's alleged breach.

The court had to decide whether the plaintiff had adequately established the existence of a contract, whether the Authority had breached the terms of that contract, and if so, the extent of the damages owed to the plaintiff. The Authority argued that there was no enforceable contract between the parties and that, in any case, the plaintiff had failed to mitigate its losses.

The court found that a contract did exist between the parties and that the Authority had indeed breached the contract. It held that the plaintiff had sufficiently established its entitlement to damages and dismissed the Authority's argument that the plaintiff had failed to mitigate its losses. The court concluded that the plaintiff was entitled to recover damages for the losses it had suffered as a result of the Authority's breach of contract.

The court ordered the Authority to pay damages to the plaintiff in the amount of $1,616,797.50, together with interest from 19 March 2019 until the date of judgment. The Authority was also ordered to pay the plaintiff's costs of the proceeding.