Keam v Marty & Michael Pty Ltd & others
[2025] QDC 189 · Grigg DCJ
The plaintiff sued the producers and a performer for a psychiatric injury she says she suffered after a liquid was thrown over the audience during a comedy show in November 2023. This particular judgment was not about who was at fault or how much money should be paid. It dealt only with the cost of a procedural dispute. The first defendant argued the plaintiff's court document setting out her case was poorly drafted and did not properly explain her claim. After repeatedly raising these problems, the defendant applied to have parts of the document struck out. The plaintiff filed a heavily rewritten version of her case just one business day before the hearing, so the application was withdrawn. The court found the plaintiff had unreasonably maintained a deficient case and forced the defendant to prepare for a hearing that became unnecessary. The judge ordered the plaintiff to pay the defendant's costs of the hearing on an indemnity basis, which is a higher level than usual. The main personal injury claim still continues.
Incident & injury
Plaintiff alleges she suffered a psychiatric injury after being splattered by a liquid thrown into the audience by an on-stage performer while attending a comedy performance.
- Body regions
- Psychiatric
- Diagnoses
- psychiatric injury (unspecified)
- Incident date
- 11 November 2023
Quick facts
- Date of judgment
- 28 November 2025
- Claim type
- PIPA Public Liability
- Proceeding
- Costs
- Plaintiff outcome
- N/A
- Occupation
- Not stated
Outcome
The first defendant's strike-out application was withdrawn after the plaintiff served an amended statement of claim on the eve of the hearing. The court ordered the plaintiff to pay the first defendant's costs of the 14 November 2025 hearing on an indemnity basis, finding the plaintiff's conduct in maintaining deficient pleadings amounted to a relevant delinquency justifying departure from the ordinary costs order.
Key issues
Keam v Marty & Michael Pty Ltd & others [2025] QDC 189
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