26 May 2020
STAPLES v FREEMAN [2020] NZHC 1124
- Citation
- [2020] NZHC 1124
- Court
- High Court
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…