Cases cited: The Owners - Unit Plan No 3182 v Black and Anor [2018] ACAT 6

The Owners - Units Plan No 546 v Donnelly & Anor [2018] ACAT 27

1. Within 28 days the respondent pay the applicant the amount of $606.50

1. These reasons should be read as supplementary to the Tribunal's reasons in The Owners - Unit Plan No 3182 v Black and Anor [2018] ACAT 6 (Black).
2. At the substantive hearing, the respondent was ordered to pay the applicant the sum of $5,209.76. The Tribunal notes the advice of the lawyers retained in that matter, Kerin Benson, that the amount of the judgment included the ACAT filing fee of $290.00; the cost of a title search totalling $39.05 and legal costs incurred in issuing a letter of demand totalling $55.00.
3. The following expenses were also claimed:

Balance of legal costs to issue debt application and file consent orders

1. Taking into account the guiding principles outlined in Black, the Tribunal accepts that it was reasonable to incur the costs as itemised, save for the legal agent filing fee of $22.00. For the reasons set out in relation The Owners - Units Plan No 546 v Donnelly & Anor [2018] ACAT 27 the Tribunal considers it was unnecessary for an agent to attend the Tribunal to file the claim for default judgment in person as the Tribunal allows claims and applications to be filed by post and this is the most efficient way to attend to filing.
2. The legal costs claimed for issuing the debt application, and negotiating the consent judgment are allowed in full as the Tribunal considers these costs to be reasonable taking into account the considerations outlined in Black.
3. The legal agent filing fee costs of $22 are disallowed. Therefore, the Tribunal allows expenses in the sum of $606.50.