10 Mar 2021
O’NEILL v O’NEILL [2021] NZHC 450
- Citation
- [2021] NZHC 450
- Court
- High Court
The court refused indemnity costs and declined a 50% uplift; it held that prosecution of the children's claims was not so unreasonable as to meet the high indemnity threshold and that a limited uplift was warranted for refusal of a reasonable settlement offer. However, rule 14.2(1)(f) and the principle that costs should not exceed actual costs incurred by a party with legal aid caps recoverable costs to the legal aid sum. The court therefore awarded Judith the actual legal aid costs of NZD 46,773.29.