Riders Motorcycle Garage $1.1m claim against Noosaville landlord denied

A Sunshine Coast motorcycle shop owner has had his $1.1m compensation claim against his landlord thrown out by a tribunal after he did not show up to a hearing. Read why here.

Riders Motorcycle Garage in Quanda Rd, Coolum Beach. Picure: Patrick Woods.

A Noosa compo claim for north of $1m has been thrown out of a civil tribunal after one of the parties failed to show for a crucial hearing date they’d sought, with an email oversight causing the case’s collapse.

Riders Motorcycle Garage Noosa owner Damien Martin Blakey claimed the vital information about the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal hearing date went to the spam section of his email account.

In a decision published on November 2, QCAT members Dr John Forbes, Neil Judge and Donald McBryde dismissed two applications brought to the tribunal by Jamb Motorco Pty Ltd, trading as the Sunshine Coast motorcycle business.

Mr Blakey was the guarantor for Jamb.

Court documents showed that in 2021, Riders Motorcycle Garage Noosa leased a shop from David Adams in Noosaville.

Riders Motorcycle Garage moved to Coolum Beach following a dispute with a Noosaville landlord. Picture: Patrick Woods.

Disputes arose about May 2021, with Mr Adams alleging Jamb “was in arrears of rent and outgoings” and Jamb complaining that Mr Adams was “repeatedly in breach of Jamb’s quiet possession,” causing it “serious” business losses, “irreparable” reputational damage and forcing the business to move to Coolum Beach.

The documents stated Jamb then claimed compensation and costs in the tribunal setting “to the tune” of more than $1.1m, “in a forum unable to grant monetary relief exceeding $750,000”.

The court documents showed the tribunal did not need to make a decision on the compensation because Jamb did not appear at the trial.

On July 19, 2023, Mr Adams and his wife appeared for the hearing but there was no appearance by the applicants.

One of Jamb’s representatives, Vicki Maree Brown, stated she changed her address without “appropriate notice” to the registry, and did not receive a notice of hearing.

Mr Blakey stated he found an email about the hearing date in his “spam emails” and had followed up with QCAT “several times” for a hearing date.

“Were that the case … he would surely have been alerted, by one means or another, well in advance, to the date of trial,” the court documents stated.

The documents stated “serious and unjustified departures” should not “be waved through”.

“Costs of the case, borne by the public purse, were thrown away, time that the tribunal could have spent on other cases in the queue was wasted, and at least one member of the tribunal attended at substantial personal expense,” the documents stated.

The QCAT members did “not regard” Mr Blakey’s excuse as “satisfactory”.

Mr Blakey declined to comment, saying he may appeal the decision.

Originally published as Riders Motorcycle Garage $1.1m claim against Noosaville landlord denied