Altintas v O'Dea Lawyers (No 2) [2018] FCAFC 187

Altintas v O'Dea Lawyers (No 2) [2018] FCAFC 187

The Respondent's failure to comply with the Court's orders and failure to attend the hearing were unreasonable for the purposes of s 570(2)(b), but the Appellant did not show that this unreasonable conduct caused her to incur additional costs. Her principal submissions had to be prepared before the Respondent's submissions were due, she was spared reply submissions, the hearing would likely still have occupied half a day, and the email costs were negligible. The statutory condition for a costs order was therefore not satisfied.

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
05 November 2018
Procedural Posture
Application for Costs in Proceedings Concerning a Question Referred by the South Australian Employment Tribunal / Determined on the Papers After Judgment on the Question Reserved
Outcome
The Appellant's application for costs was dismissed.
Legal Topics
['fair Work Act Costs Limitation' 'unreasonable Act or Omission' 'failure to Comply With Court Orders' 'non Appearance at Hearing' 'overarching Purpose']
['employment and Industrial Relations' 'costs' 'federal Court Procedure'] ['fair Work Act Costs Limitation' 'unreasonable Act or Omission' 'failure to Comply With Court Orders' 'non Appearance at Hearing' 'overarching Purpose']

Case Brief

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Procedural Posture

Application for Costs in Proceedings Concerning a Question Referred by the South Australian Employment Tribunal / Determined on the Papers After Judgment on the Question Reserved

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ["Whether the Respondent's failure to file submissions, file a list of authorities and legislation, and attend the hearing was an unreasonable act or omission for the purposes of s 570(2)(b) of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth)." 'Whether any unreasonable act or omission by the Respondent caused the Appellant to incur costs so as to permit a costs order under s 570(2)(b) of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth).']

Ratio Decidendi

The Respondent's failure to comply with the Court's orders and failure to attend the hearing were unreasonable for the purposes of s 570(2)(b), but the Appellant did not show that this unreasonable conduct caused her to incur additional costs. Her principal submissions had to be prepared before the Respondent's submissions were due, she was spared reply submissions, the hearing would likely still have occupied half a day, and the email costs were negligible. The statutory condition for a costs order was therefore not satisfied.

Court Disposition

The Appellant's application for costs was dismissed.

Orders

  • ["The Appellant's application for costs is dismissed."]