Zavodny v Couper and QBE (No 2)

The case of Zavodny v Couper and QBE (No 2) involved an application for the inspection of surveillance reports. The applicants sought to inspect the surveillance reports and the respondents opposed the application. The dispute was heard in the Queensland Supreme Court. The applicants argued that the respondents should have been prepared to meet the arguments in their outline of argument, while the respondents contended that the applicants should have been aware of the substance of their arguments, which should have been flagged in the respondents' rule 445 letter. The court was required to determine whether the Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 1999 (Qld) r 445 mandated that an applicant or respondent must include the arguments to be advanced in support of the specified explanation as to why the applicant should have the relief.

The court considered the obligations under rule 445 of the Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 1999 (Qld) and determined that it did not require an applicant or respondent to include the arguments to be advanced in support of the specified explanation as to why the applicant should have the relief. The court held that the respondents were not required to flag the substance of their arguments in their rule 445 letter, and the applicants should have been prepared to meet the arguments in the respondents' outline of argument. The court also found that the applicants' request for the adjournment was unreasonable, and therefore, the applicants should bear the costs thrown away by the adjournment. However, the respondents were ordered to pay the applicants' costs of and incidental to the application, excluding the costs thrown away by the adjournment.

The court ordered that the applicants would pay the respondents' costs thrown away by the adjournment on 7 September 2018 of the application filed 27 August 2018 (Court doc 36) to be assessed on the standard basis unless agreed. The respondents were ordered to pay the applicants' costs of and incidental to the application filed 27 August 2018 (Court doc 36) to be assessed on the standard basis unless agreed, excluding the applicants' costs thrown away by the adjournment of that application on 7 September 2018.