Blundstone v Johnson & Anor

[2010] QCA 148

Queensland Court of Appeal

Built by Barristers,
For Australian Law.

See how it works

Interrogate

Catchwords

1. Limitation of Actions
2. › Extension of limitation periods
3. › Personal injuries
4. › Motor vehicle accidents
5. › Second extension of limitation period
6. › Whether consent order extending time constituted a contract
7. › Whether discretion to further extend properly exercised
8. › Motor Accidents Insurance Act 1994 (Qld), s 57(2)(b)
1. Practice and Procedure
2. › Judgments and orders
3. › Consent orders
4. › Nature of consent orders
5. › Whether consent order embodies contract or is order made with consent of parties
6. › Distinction between consent order embodying terms of contract and consent order based on parties' willingness to submit to order on certain terms
1. Contract
2. › Formation
3. › Inference of contract from consent orders
4. › Whether consent order extending limitation period constituted a contract between the parties

Quick Take

A consent order extending the limitation period under s 57(2)(b) of the Motor Accidents Insurance Act 1994 (Qld) that merely grants leave to commence proceedings within a specified time does not constitute a contract between the parties; it is an order of the court made with the consent of the parties. Even if such an order were contractual, it is performed once the specified period expires, so a further extension does not deprive the other party of any contractual benefit. The discretion under s 57(2)(b) is not subject to express statutory qualification but must be exercised with regard to its statutory purpose, and a connection between the delay and the plaintiff's attempt to comply with the Act's requirements, while important, is not indispensable to a favourable exercise of the discretion.