STAPLES v FREEMAN [2020] NZHC 1124

STAPLES v FREEMAN [2020] NZHC 1124

The Court held that expert witness fees can be awarded as a disbursement in the context of interlocutory applications provided the fees are specific to and reasonably necessary for the conduct of the application and reasonable in amount; the expert's work in this case met those criteria and the award of Mr Lazelle's fees as a disbursement was upheld. On the June 2018 multi-issue interlocutory application, where the applications are treated as one for costs, partial success is not defeated by a single significant loss; the appropriate exercise of discretion was to award costs to the plaintiffs for that application but reduce them by 50% to reflect the defendants' success on the most...

Citation
[2020] NZHC 1124
Parties
First Plaintiff: Bryan Douglas Staples; Second Plaintiff: Claims Resolution Service Limited; First Defendant: Richard Logan Freeman; Second Defendant: Mediaworks TV Limited; Third Defendant: Kate McCallum; Fourth Defendant: Tristram Clayton
Court
High Court
Jurisdiction
New Zealand
Judgment Date
26 May 2020
Procedural Posture
Defamation / Interlocutory Review of Costs (review Under Judicature Act S26 P)
Outcome
Application for review partly dismissed: award of expert accounting witness fees as a disbursement upheld; plaintiffs awarded reduced costs for the June 2018 interlocutory applications; costs of this review application to lie where they fall.
Legal Topics
Interlocutory Applications, Disbursements, Expert Witness Fees, Discovery, Journalists' Sources Privilege, Costs Review
Defamation Civil Procedure Evidence Law Costs and Taxation Interlocutory Applications Disbursements Expert Witness Fees Discovery +2 more

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Parties

Bryan Douglas Staples

First Plaintiff

Claims Resolution Service Limited

Second Plaintiff

Richard Logan Freeman

First Defendant

Mediaworks TV Limited

Second Defendant

Kate McCallum

Third Defendant

Tristram Clayton

Fourth Defendant

Procedural Posture

Defamation / Interlocutory Review of Costs (review Under Judicature Act S26 P)

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether expert accounting witness fees can be awarded as a disbursement in the context of interlocutory applications
  2. 2 Whether the plaintiffs were entitled to an award of costs for the June 2018 interlocutory applications despite partial success and the defendants' success on a complex confidentiality issue

Ratio Decidendi

The Court held that expert witness fees can be awarded as a disbursement in the context of interlocutory applications provided the fees are specific to and reasonably necessary for the conduct of the application and reasonable in amount; the expert's work in this case met those criteria and the award of Mr Lazelle's fees as a disbursement was upheld. On the June 2018 multi-issue interlocutory application, where the applications are treated as one for costs, partial success is not defeated by a single significant loss; the appropriate exercise of discretion was to award costs to the plaintiffs for that application but reduce them by 50% to reflect the defendants' success on the most...

Court Disposition

Application for review partly dismissed: award of expert accounting witness fees as a disbursement upheld; plaintiffs awarded reduced costs for the June 2018 interlocutory applications; costs of this review application to lie where they fall.

Orders

  • Award of defendants' expert accounting witness fees (Mr Lazelle) as a disbursement is upheld
  • Plaintiffs awarded costs for the June 2018 interlocutory applications in the amount of $5,240.50 NZD (after 50% reduction applied to specified steps)