Banana Leaf Pty Ltd v Tuhan Pty Ltd [1999] RSLT 27

[1999] RSLT 27 THE RETAIL SHOP LEASES ACT In the matter of Dispute 98/1998 BANANA LEAF PTY LIMITED - Claimant - and - TUHAN PTY LIMITED - Respondent DECISION Given in Brisbane on 3 August, 1999. -- 1 of 3 -- This dispute between the lessor and lessee was the subject matter of a Notice of Dispute which was filed in the Registry of the Retail Shop Leases Tribunal on 14 September, 1998. There have been a number of appearances before the Tribunal for the purpose of resolving this dispute. Certain Directions Hearings have been arranged and there remains a dispute between the parties as to whether or not the orders which were made in respect of the procedures have been complied with. Be that as it may, the matter came to a head on last Wednesday when the Tribunal assembled for the purpose of resolving the dispute between the parties. Prior to that, the Tribunal had indicated its concern that the statement of outgoings which was relied upon by the lessor had not been audited in accordance with the relevant provisions of the legislation and for that purpose, the matter had been adjourned to enable that to be done. On last Wednesday, we were provided with an audited statement in respect of the contentious years. We are satisfied that the Tribunal had before it the appropriate documentation and, in the hope of being able to resolve the matter expeditiously, the Tribunal did look at some of the figures for the purpose of perhaps testing whether or not some of the issues raised by the lessee were substantial or otherwise. At the conclusion of the matter, we were hopeful that the matter may have been able to be resolved between the parties, in the face of an intimation from us to the lessee that there seemed to be substance in the documentation which had been presented to us; that is, the audited material presented to us on behalf of the lessor. It seems that, in the meantime, the parties have not been able to resolve the matter. During the course of our discussions on last Wednesday, which were conducted in a quite informal manner, our attention was drawn to the fact that there was in the Magistrates Court, litigation between the parties. That matter has been referred to again this morning and it seems to us, from the material which we have and from what we’ve been told from the Bar Table, that the subject matter of this dispute before the Tribunal is at least in part the subject of a dispute between the parties in the Magistrates Court. In the light of that, it seems clear to us, and we are satisfied that the matter is covered by Section 109(1)(3) of the Retail Shop Leases Act and that, that being the case the Tribunal has no jurisdiction to hear the dispute which is the subject matter of the Notice of Dispute before us. Accordingly, we are of the view, in the light of latest developments, that the Tribunal has no jurisdiction. We so rule and we leave the parties to resolve the matter, if that is possible, in the Magistrates Court. -- 2 of 3 -- Mr W Carter Chairman -- 3 of 3 --