Skaines v Kovac Enterprises Pty Ltd

SUPREME COURT OF QUEENSLAND

CITATION:

Skaines v Kovac Enterprises Pty Ltd [2006] QSC 120

PARTIES:

ANTHONY WARREN SKAINES
(applicant)
v
KOVAC ENTERPRISES PTY LTD
ACN 100 107 560
(respondent)

FILE NO:

BS 1623/06

DIVISION:

Applications Division

PROCEEDING:

Application

COURT:

Supreme Court

DELIVERED ON:

Delivered ex tempore on 19 May 2006

DELIVERED AT:

Brisbane

HEARING DATE:

19 May 2006

JUDGE:

Fryberg J

ORDER:

Application dimissed

CATCHWORDS:

PROCEDURE – DECISIONS OF PARTICULAR COURTS – INDUSTRIAL COURTS AND TRIBUNALS - where respondent seeks relief in the Commercial and Consumer Tribunal – where a typographical error meant the applicant made an offer to settle for ten percent of its actual intended settlement price – where applicant purported to rescind that offer by post – where respondent purported to accept the original offer – where applicant seeks a declaration that no valid and binding contract exists between the parties, or for recision of that contract or for a declaration that that contract has been terminated, avoided or rescinded – whether a higher court should consider settlement agreements arising out of proceedings in a Tribunal - whether the Commercial and Consumer Tribunal has jurisdiction to consider settlement agreements

Queensland Building Services Authority Act 1991 (Qld), s 77
Commercial and Consumer Tribunal Act 2003 (Qld), s 8, s 40(2)

Buchanan, T. v Cooke, S. [2005] QCCTB 96 (4 March 2005), cited

Fraser Property Developments Pty Ltd v Somerfeld [2005] QCA 134; CA No 10072 of 2004, 29 April 2005, cited

Suncool Pools & Spa’s Pty Ltd v Freedom Pools & Spas [2005] QCCTB 4 (8 February 2005), cited

COUNSEL:

G I Thompson for the applicant

No appearance for the respondent

SOLICITORS:

SJP Law for the Applicant

SUPREME COURT OF QUEENSLAND

CIVIL JURISDICTION

FRYBERG J    [2006] QSC 120

No BS1623 of 2006

ANTHONY WARREN SKAINES  Applicant

and

KOVAC ENTERPRISES PTY LTD
(ACN 100 107 560)  Respondent

BRISBANE

..DATE 19/05/2006

ORDER

HIS HONOUR:  The applicant is a builder.  He is the respondent in proceedings pending before the Commercial and Consumer Tribunal.  Those proceedings were initiated by the respondent in this Court, Kovac Enterprises Proprietary Limited.

Kovac alleges in the Tribunal that it made a contract for the performance of domestic building work with Mr Skaines for a fixed price.  It alleges that an amount of money which
Mr Skaines is claiming from it, some $127,000, is more than the amount of the fixed price contract which it has paid and that it does not owe such money.

It seeks relief from the Tribunal of the sort described in section 77(2)(b) of the Queensland Building Services Authority Act 1991.

Mr Skaines, in those proceedings, denies that the contract was for a fixed price and instead, counter-claims for the amount of money which he alleges is owing.

The proceedings continued through a series of directions hearings until by a letter from the Tribunal to the parties, sent in December 2005 or January 2006, the dates 27 and 28 of February 2006, were appointed for trial.

On the 12th of January…