ARTICLE · 03 AUGUST 2011

Indemnity costs ordered against the defendant despite contributory negligence being assessed at 65%

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Schimke case and mandatory offer under s 51(1) of the Motor Accident Insurance Act 1994 discussed.

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Andrew Parker

Judgment date: 22 July 2011

Schimke v Clements and Suncorp Metway Insurance Limited (No. 2) [2011] QSC 208

Supreme Court of Queensland¹

In Brief

The fact that a party has made a mandatory offer under s 51(1) of the Motor Accident Insurance Act 1994 (the Act) will not in itself be enough to avoid an indemnity costs order, if that party makes a later formal offer under the Uniform Civil Procedure Rules² (UCPR) which the court considers to be a genuine offer by way of a substantial compromise.

Background

The above case arises out of a claim for indemnity costs made by the plaintiff, as a result of a motor vehicle accident that occurred on 2 February 2008. The facts of the substantive action are outlined in detail in Schimke v Clements [2011] QSC 182. They can be briefly summarised as follows.

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