A woman who sued Coles after slipping on a supermarket floor stood to receive just $34,800 of a $650,000 settlement after two law firms she engaged staked claims to more than $490,000. 

Another $98,000 is owed to Centrelink and $27,000 to Medicare to avoid “double payment” for services she received relating to her injuries. 

Now, after a “tripartite imbroglio”, a judge has ruled that Coles’ lawyers should pay more than $526,000 of the settlement sum to the NSW Supreme Court for formal assessment of the law firms’ costs and the final payout to claimant Alice Uin. The money held back will go to Centrelink and Medicare. 

Ms Uin fell at a Coles supermarket in Penrith, NSW, in June 2018, allegedly because there was water on the floor. She later engaged law firm Gerard Malouf and Partners on a no-win, no-fee basis to sue the supermarket giant. 

In November 2021, an informal settlement conference was held with Coles’ lawyers, but no agreement was reached. Soon after this, the relationship between Gerard Malouf and Partners and Ms Uin broke down and the law firm stopped acting for her. 

Ms Uin later engaged rival law firm Brydens and the case settled for $650,000 in May last year. 

But the matter ended up in the NSW Supreme Court after Ms Uin disputed the legal fees claimed by both Gerard Malouf and Partners ($288,267) and Brydens ($203,771). 

In his judgment earlier this month, Justice David Hammerschlag said Ms Uin was “reluctant for the bills to be the subject of formal assessment because of the additional cost involved. She seeks a ruling that, of the money in court, 25% should go to the lawyers and 75% to her, out of which Centrelink and Medicare will be paid.” 

But he concluded: “The additional costs involved may not be substantial but they are a consequence of her not accepting the quantum of the bills (which no doubt is perfectly understandable).” 

See the full ruling here.