C E SANKEY V HARRISON CONSTRUCTION LTD AND ANOR HC AK CIV 2008-488-000549

C E SANKEY V HARRISON CONSTRUCTION LTD AND ANOR HC AK CIV 2008-488-000549

The court refused to award indemnity costs and reserved all costs because the first defendant had an arguable basis for seeking summary judgment and did not act erroneously or with knowledge of inevitable failure; the plaintiff did not meet the threshold under Rule 14.6 for indemnity costs, so costs are to be determined after the defended hearing or trial.

Citation
openlaw-7782b68b_7f9b_470b_ae35_d8b169268a0b.pdf
Parties
Plaintiff: C E Sankey; First Defendant: Harrison Construction Ltd; Second Defendant: Whangarei District Council
Court
High Court
Jurisdiction
New Zealand
Judgment Date
17 March 2009
Procedural Posture
Civil Summary Judgment Application / Summary Judgment Hearing on the Papers; Costs Reserved Pending Trial
Outcome
Previously dismissed the defendant's summary judgment application; refused to order indemnity costs; reserved the question of costs to be decided at or after the defended hearing/trial.
Legal Topics
Summary Judgment, Duty of Care, Breach of Contract, Indemnity Costs, Costs Reservation
Contract Tort (negligence) Civil Procedure Costs Law Summary Judgment Duty of Care Breach of Contract Indemnity Costs +1 more

Case Brief

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Parties

C E Sankey

Plaintiff

Harrison Construction Ltd

First Defendant

Whangarei District Council

Second Defendant

Procedural Posture

Civil Summary Judgment Application / Summary Judgment Hearing on the Papers; Costs Reserved Pending Trial

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the first defendant was entitled to summary judgment on the plaintiff's breach of contract and negligence claims
  2. 2 Whether the plaintiff was entitled to indemnity costs for successfully opposing the summary judgment application
  3. 3 Whether the court should depart from the usual practice and determine costs now or reserve them until trial

Ratio Decidendi

The court refused to award indemnity costs and reserved all costs because the first defendant had an arguable basis for seeking summary judgment and did not act erroneously or with knowledge of inevitable failure; the plaintiff did not meet the threshold under Rule 14.6 for indemnity costs, so costs are to be determined after the defended hearing or trial.

Court Disposition

Previously dismissed the defendant's summary judgment application; refused to order indemnity costs; reserved the question of costs to be decided at or after the defended hearing/trial.

Orders

  • Costs on the plaintiff's successful opposition to the defendant's summary judgment application are reserved
  • No indemnity costs awarded under Rule 14.6