Counting the day, Christmas and BIFA

In a recent decision of the District Court of Allencon Pty Ltd v Palmgrove Holdings Pty Ltd, Judge Burnett had to determine when a payment schedule was due when the payment claim was served on Christmas Eve 2021.

The application before the court by the subcontractor was for summary judgement in default of delivery of a payment schedule within the time.

This decision had to determine whether there was a triable issue or whether on a summary basis the matter could be determined without a trial.

Facts and relevant contractual Terms

• The contract required claims to be made by the 24^th of the month;
• A claim was served on Christmas Eve;
• The contract provided for a payment certificate to be provided within 21 days;