1 Jun 2022
Because the Court of Appeal overturned the High Court's substantive decision and the Supreme Court declined further appeal, the respondent succeeded and is entitled to costs for the substantive High Court appeal on a 2B basis; the existing costs award for the High Court leave application remains undisturbed.
1 Feb 2022
The High Court dismissed the appeal and upheld the Family Court's exercise of discretion under s82: the Judge had not acted on a wrong principle nor been plainly wrong in finding the respondent's reasonable monthly needs (including interim legal and accounting costs) justified $17,000 per month for six months and that the appellant had the ability to meet that interim award by drawing on capital and controlled entities.
9 May 2016
Order for possession and cancellation of the agreement to lease was appropriate because respondent remained in possession and was in breach by failing to pay rent and outgoings and refusing to vacate; the court ordered payment of arrears of $12,877.75 as at 17 March 2016, ongoing unpaid rent and outgoings and interest at 12% from 17 March 2016 until yield up, and awarded $954 for out‑of‑pocket costs; solicitor/client costs claimed on a 2B basis were not awarded because applicants failed to provide sufficient evidence of actual costs, but leave was reserved to seek further orders on costs.
15 Mar 2016
A s 45(5) certificate may be issued specifying the costs that would have been ordered if s 45(2) had not applied; the court certified that absent s 45(2) the applicants would have been ordered to pay the second and third respondents jointly costs of $2,500.
19 Jun 2015
A final maintenance order may include an allowance for legal expenses for ongoing litigation; costs in the maintenance proceedings follow the event and are awarded to Mrs Clayton on a 2B basis; payments made by the respondent in separate relationship property proceedings are not relevant to the costs decision in the maintenance proceedings.
28 Apr 2015
The Court allowed a limited variation to permit payments for the applicant's legal and accounting costs for litigation, ordered a $220,000 dividend from Clayton Holdings Ltd to be credited to the applicant's account with $110,000 immediately paid to respondent's solicitors and $110,000 to applicant's solicitors, and permitted $10,000 per month to applicant from VRPT as cash flow and ASB consent permit; further variations were refused absent up-to-date evidence of the applicant's means, and leave was reserved to apply again with evidence.
23 Apr 2015
The application to vary the restraining orders was allowed because, on the evidence, the Trust Me Trust assets (notably the Mega shareholding) were not sufficiently liquid to meet Mr Dotcom's immediate legal costs and reasonable living expenses; s 28 CPRA permits access to restrained property for legal expenses and reasonable living expenses subject to consideration of availability of unrestrained assets, and in the particular circumstances it was appropriate to permit access to the remaining government bonds and to authorise living expenses of NZD 170,000 per month pending reassessment when…
5 Sept 2013
The appeal was allowed because, in light of the interim judgment and the respondent's undertaking to fund and obtain an MRI scan as directed by paragraph 23(b), it was fair to permit further investigation and to allow the appeal; the appellant was entitled to reasonable expenses for the hearing.
18 Nov 2010
Because the Crown accepted the invoice as reasonable and the first respondent did not contest it, the court was satisfied the sum of $46,670.09 should be approved and ordered paid from monies restrained under the Proceeds of Crime Act 1991.
5 Nov 2008
Although the applicant won the appeal, the Court exercised its discretion to deny costs because the respondent had reasonable grounds to initiate habeas corpus proceedings in the context of an abducted child, the applicant no longer had custody by the time of hearing, and the child was subsequently found and the applicant prosecuted, rendering an award of costs inappropriate.