Shields, Isaac John Mackay , Geoffrey Neil Keith Shields, Norma Rose Shields and James Isaac Keith Shields v The Official Receiver in Bankruptcy and The Official Trustee in Bankruptcy [1995] FCA 757

Shields, Isaac John Mackay , Geoffrey Neil Keith Shields, Norma Rose Shields and James Isaac Keith Shields v The Official Receiver in Bankruptcy and The Official Trustee in Bankruptcy [1995] FCA 757

The appeals by Geoffrey Neil Keith Shields and Norma Rose Shields had to be dismissed because they were not liable under the relevant order and taxation of costs. As to James Isaac Keith Shields and Isaac John Mackay Shields, the Court could not give effect to the contention that the rules unjustly discriminated against litigants in person while the Bankruptcy Rules remained in their present form. The challenged taxation items, other than drawing and photocopying the bill itself, were expressly within Schedule 3, and the bill of costs itself was a necessary document not otherwise provided for within Item 9 because it was required by the Rules as a prerequisite to recovery. The appeal was...

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
18 September 1995
Procedural Posture
Bankruptcy Appeal Concerning Review of Taxation of Costs / Appeal From a Single Judge Refusing an Application for Review of a Taxation of Costs
Outcome
Appeal dismissed with costs.
Legal Topics
['taxation of Costs' 'party and Party Costs' 'litigants in Person' 'bankruptcy Rules' 'recoverability of Costs of Preparing and Taxing a Bill of Costs']
['bankruptcy' 'civil Procedure' 'costs'] ['taxation of Costs' 'party and Party Costs' 'litigants in Person' 'bankruptcy Rules' 'recoverability of Costs of Preparing and Taxing a Bill of Costs']

Case Brief

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Procedural Posture

Bankruptcy Appeal Concerning Review of Taxation of Costs / Appeal From a Single Judge Refusing an Application for Review of a Taxation of Costs

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ["Whether the Bankruptcy Act or Bankruptcy Rules costs regime was discriminatory because it allowed recovery of solicitors' costs but not comparable recovery by an unrepresented party." 'Whether items in the taxed bill relating to preparation of the bill of costs and attendance on its taxation were properly recoverable.' 'Whether the bill of costs was a necessary document not otherwise provided for within Item 9 of Schedule 3 to the Bankruptcy Rules.']

Ratio Decidendi

The appeals by Geoffrey Neil Keith Shields and Norma Rose Shields had to be dismissed because they were not liable under the relevant order and taxation of costs. As to James Isaac Keith Shields and Isaac John Mackay Shields, the Court could not give effect to the contention that the rules unjustly discriminated against litigants in person while the Bankruptcy Rules remained in their present form. The challenged taxation items, other than drawing and photocopying the bill itself, were expressly within Schedule 3, and the bill of costs itself was a necessary document not otherwise provided for within Item 9 because it was required by the Rules as a prerequisite to recovery. The appeal was...

Court Disposition

Appeal dismissed with costs.

Orders

  • ['That the appeal be dismissed.' "That the applicants pay the respondents' costs of the appeal, including reserved costs."]