30 Sept 2021
The party who sought the adjournment (the body corporate) must bear the wasted costs of the opponent limited to those costs that will have to be incurred again; applying discretion the court awarded NZD 67,544.75 based on allowances for counsel memoranda, preparation (60% of category 2 scale), and expert witness fees net of GST.
21 Apr 2021
Costs were awarded to the respondent in respect of the discontinued interim matters other than Order 1.5 (the damages claim) because Samson had prior notice that Order 1.5 would not be pursued; the claimed quantum for the remaining discontinued matters was excessive and was reduced by 25%; no order was made for costs relating to preparation of a memorandum on costs.
22 Oct 2020
The court refused to recall the earlier costs decision and affirmed the award of scale costs at $8,671 because the matter on appeal is to be treated as an appeal for costs purposes, the Schedule 3 item for preparation of the case on appeal may be claimed without producing specific documents, the hearing duration justified a half day allowance, and the respondent had delayed raising these challenges until after the costs judgment.
16 Dec 2019
The Court of Appeal awarded the defendant costs on a band B standard appeal basis using category 2 daily rate of $1,990 and the defendant's time allocations, rejecting the use of a higher rate applicable to complex appeals; the previously recorded lack of objection to disbursements in the Supreme Court precluded reopening the disbursements quantum here.
7 Aug 2018
Successful defendants were entitled to costs as a matter of course; the itemised 2B scale costs and disbursements claimed were reasonable; the plaintiff's failure to file a responding memorandum and his history of non-compliance justified awarding the claimed amounts.
15 Dec 2015
Rule 15.23 of the High Court Rules applies to s 226 appeals; costs on discontinuance are payable by the appellant. Costs awarded in these circumstances are not provable debts under s 232 because the proceedings were commenced after adjudication; therefore the costs will not be met from property vested in the Official Assignee and the Official Assignee may pursue the appellant for costs after discharge. The appellant's reasons for discontinuance (including lack of legal aid) did not displace the presumption for costs; quantum as assessed was appropriate, including an additional award for the c…
13 Mar 2014
The Tribunal's finding of bad faith was supported and indemnity costs were available, but because the appellants succeeded in respect of some claims the indemnity award should be limited to 85% of the respondents' reasonable 2B scale costs; costs for attendance of junior counsel were not justified; certain case management conference costs should lie where they fall; final quantum fixed at $7,273.45 payable by the Body Corporate to each respondent.
31 Jul 2013
Because there was no material difference in the level of input between the experts, the court fixed Mr Basrur's fee as a disbursement at an amount commensurate with the other experts' fees and awarded $30,000 plus GST.
2 Apr 2012
Where entitlement to costs had already been determined on a 2B basis and the applicant provided appropriate calculations, the Court will award the quantified amount; therefore $3,948 was awarded against Auckland Council.
9 Aug 2010
Applying r 15.23 the presumption that a discontinuing counter-claimant pays costs was not displaced on the facts; the Court awarded the counter-claim defendant $7,120 for costs (with disbursements to be fixed by the Registrar) after making specific deductions for discovery and conference items not attributable solely to the counter-claim.