Patrick Stevedores Holdings Pty Limited v Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union (No 3) [2021] FCA 348

Patrick Stevedores Holdings Pty Limited v Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union (No 3) [2021] FCA 348

The referee report was rejected in its entirety because it misconceived the legal principles for causation and quantification required by s 545(2)(b) of the Fair Work Act, applying an incorrect standard that required proof of sole or substantial causation and rejected partial compensation where only a fraction of the loss could be proved as caused by the contravention. The Court held that statutory causation under s 545(2)(b) allows compensation for loss proved to be caused by the contravention, not requiring exclusive causation and permitting partial awards. In light of these findings, the Court ordered adjusted allocation of the costs of the reference and set the matter down for final...

Parties
First Applicant: Patrick Stevedores Holdings Pty Limited; Second Applicant: Patrick Stevedores Operations Pty Ltd; First Applicant: Qube Logistics (NSW) Pty Ltd; Second Applicant: Qube Logistics (SB) Pty Ltd; Third Applicant: Qube Logistics (Rail) Pty Ltd; First Respondent: Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union; Second Respondent: Mr Paul McAleer; Third Respondent: Mr Paul Keating
Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
01 April 2021
Procedural Posture
Civil / Interlocutory Judgment on Referee Report and Preparation for Final Hearing
Outcome
Referee report rejected in full; matter set for final hearing; cost orders made allocating reference costs one-third among party groups.
Legal Topics
Statutory Compensation, Factual and Legal Causation, Discretion Under Fair Work Act, Principles for Adopting Referee Report
Industrial Law Employment Law Statutory Compensation Factual and Legal Causation Discretion Under Fair Work Act Principles for Adopting Referee Report

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Parties

Patrick Stevedores Holdings Pty Limited

First Applicant

Patrick Stevedores Operations Pty Ltd

Second Applicant

Qube Logistics (NSW) Pty Ltd

First Applicant

Qube Logistics (SB) Pty Ltd

Second Applicant

Qube Logistics (Rail) Pty Ltd

Third Applicant

Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union

First Respondent

Mr Paul McAleer

Second Respondent

Mr Paul Keating

Third Respondent

Procedural Posture

Civil / Interlocutory Judgment on Referee Report and Preparation for Final Hearing

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the referee report on statutory compensation should be adopted or rejected
  2. 2 Correct principles and application of factual and legal causation under s 545(2)(b) Fair Work Act
  3. 3 Allocation of costs for reference and referee's report

Ratio Decidendi

The referee report was rejected in its entirety because it misconceived the legal principles for causation and quantification required by s 545(2)(b) of the Fair Work Act, applying an incorrect standard that required proof of sole or substantial causation and rejected partial compensation where only a fraction of the loss could be proved as caused by the contravention. The Court held that statutory causation under s 545(2)(b) allows compensation for loss proved to be caused by the contravention, not requiring exclusive causation and permitting partial awards. In light of these findings, the Court ordered adjusted allocation of the costs of the reference and set the matter down for final...

Court Disposition

Referee report rejected in full; matter set for final hearing; cost orders made allocating reference costs one-third among party groups.

Orders

  • Pursuant to s 54A(3)(c) of the Federal Court of Australia Act 1976, the referee report be rejected.
  • Subject to further order, all parties involved in the reference (Patricks, Qube, and respondent parties) each pay one-third of the costs of the reference, being one-half of the amount invoiced by the referee.