A MACKAY couple chasing extra time to lodge an appeal over a District court decision has had the application refused.

Geoffrey and Julie Baguley sold a residential property at Byron St, Mackay to Lifestyle Homes Mackay Pty Ltd for $400,000.

The contractual date for settlement was October 15, 2010.

Lifestyle Homes Mackay failed to settle on the due date.

So in August 2011, Mr and Mrs Baguley submitted a claim in the District Court in Mackay for damages over the breach of contract, interest and costs.

A hearing to assess damaged was held in Mackay in November 2013.

A Court of Appeal judgement, released online, states the property had been resold in October 2012 for $300,000.

The couple quantified the loss as totalling $100,000.

Lifestyle Homes Mackay submitted the couple were only entitled to damages by reference to the value of the property at the date of the breach of contract.

The District Court judge agreed with the respondent's submission and in April 2014 awarded damages totalling $88,982 to the couple.

The judge also ordered Lifestyle Homes Mackay pay 30% of the couple's costs.

Under the Uniform Civil Procedure Rules "a notice of appeal must, unless the Court of Appeal orders otherwise, be filed within 28 days after the date of the decision appealed from" and "be served as soon as practicable on all other parties to the appeal", the judgement read.

Mr and Mrs Baguley waited 127 days before they filed an appeal over the decision. The courts treated the submission as an application for an extension of time to apply for an appeal.

"Mr Baguley... made a conscious decision not to appeal the substantive decision promptly after it was delivered," the judgement read. The application was refused and the couple were ordered to pay the respondent's costs.