The saying goes that "a stitch in time saves nine".
That is certainly the case when recovering unpaid rates following
the recent High Court decision in Brisbane City Council v
Amos.
The story dates back to 2009, when Brisbane City Council
commenced an action to recover unpaid rates owed by Mr Amos, the
oldest notices for which stretched back to 1999. In what turned out
to be a significant oversight, the proceedings did not involve an
application to sell the land to pay the debt.
Mr Amos defended part of the claim by asserting that the Council
couldn't recover the rates that were payable before 2003
because such action was statute-barred by the Queensland equivalent
of section 14(d) of the Limitation Act 1969.
