Taycon Pty Ltd v Williams

[2023] QSC 297

SUPREME COURT OF QUEENSLAND

CITATION:

Taycon Pty Ltd v Williams [2023] QSC 297

PARTIES:

TAYCON PTY LTD ACN 010 921 507 AS TRUSTEE FOR THE TAYLOR FAMILY TRUST

(plaintiff)
v
STEPHEN GERARD WILLIAMS
(defendant)

FILENO:

4482 of 2021

DIVISION:

Trial Division

PROCEEDING:

By way of claim

ORIGINATINGCOURT:

Supreme Court of Queensland at Brisbane

DELIVEREDON:

22 December 2023

DELIVEREDAT:

Brisbane

HEARINGDATE:

7 and 8 December 2023

JUDGE:

Applegarth J

ORDER:

The matter be adjourned to a date to be fixed in the week commencing 29 January 2024 for the purpose of entering judgment in an amount to be calculated.

CATCHWORDS:

CONTRACTS – GENERAL CONTRACTUAL PRINCIPLES – CONSTRUCTION AND INTEPRETATION

OF CONTRACTS - where the plaintiff undertook building work on the defendant’s home - where the plaintiff issued invoices to the defendant for the work – where the parties entered into a deed acknowledging a debt that was payable on 30 May with interest in default of payment accruing after 1 June – where to obtain more time to pay, the defendant offered to pay an additional $25,000 - where the plaintiff contends that the parties agreed that the balance payable would be increased by $25,0000 to $350,000 with interest not payable on the additional amount – where the defendant contends that the parties agreed that the balance payable would be increased by

$25,0000 to a fixed sum of $350,000, with no interest payable on any part of that amount – what were the terms of the oral agreement

CONTRACTS – GENERAL CONTRACTUAL PRINCIPLES    –    FORMATION    OF    CONTRACTUAL

RELATIONS – where the defendant contends that the parties entered into a binding oral agreement whereby the balance owing to the plaintiff would, instead of being repaid, be

invested into a project being undertaken by the defendant - where the plaintiff contends that there was no concluded agreement because the agreement was too uncertain and the parties had not formed the necessary intention to create legal relations - whether a binding agreement was concluded

CONTRACTS – GENERAL CONTRACTUAL PRINCIPLES     –  CONSTRUCTION  AND INTERPRETATION OF CONTRACTS – PENALTIES AND

LIQUIDATED DAMAGES – where the parties entered into a written agreement requiring the payment of interest in the event the principal was not paid - where the rate of interest was 20 per cent per annum, compounding daily - whether the requirement   to   pay   interest   was   void   as   a   penalty

Arab Bank Australia Ltd v Sayde Developments Pty Ltd

(2016) 93 NSWLR 231, cited

Bay Bon Investments Pty Ltd v Selvarajah [2008] NSWSC 1251, cited

Central City Pty Ltd v Montevento Holdings Pty Ltd [2011] WASCA 5, cited

Coote v Kelly [2013] NSWCA 357, cited

County Securities Pty Ltd v Challenger Group Holdings Pty Ltd [2008] NSWCA 193, cited

Effem Foods Pty Ltd v Lake Cumbeline Pty Ltd (1999) 161 ALR 599, cited

Gautam v Health Care Complaints Commission (NSW)

[2021] NSWCA 85, cited

GoConnect Ltd v Sino Strategic International Ltd (in liq)

[2016] VSCA 315, cited

Guirguis…