5 Dec 2023
The applicant's set aside application was dismissed; the respondent is entitled to costs assessed under category 2 with allocated time bands and allowances, and disbursements of $1,724.78 were found necessarily and reasonably incurred; step 32 does not apply to originating applications.
10 Nov 2023
Invsta failed to displace the presumption that it should pay costs after withdrawing the statutory demand; there was a substantial and genuine contractual dispute (including termination and liability for fees) that made the statutory demand inappropriate and the dispute should have been pursued by the contractual dispute resolution procedure or negotiation; accordingly Invsta must pay costs on a 2B basis and disbursements as claimed.
30 Oct 2023
WCL should have ascertained and applied the cl 27 limitation in the Guarantee before issuing or persisting with the statutory demand; issuing a demand for the full amount Podular owed without accounting for amounts received by Lumen was unreasonable and justified an increased costs award of 2B scale with a 50% uplift, resulting in costs of $16,132.50 and disbursements of $498.81 to be paid by WCL to Lumen.
30 Oct 2023
GSNZ failed to comply with the ancillary discovery order by withholding or redacting documents central to identifying assets (including the unredacted 2017 Agreement, any amendments or supplemental deed, and the carbon credit register history); because disclosure is necessary to determine whether assets exist and whether the freezing order should continue, the freezing order was extended until full compliance and targeted disclosure was ordered by a specified date.
28 Jul 2023
The statutory demand issued prior to the Employment Court stay was not an abuse of process because the Authority's determinations created a debt that could validly support a statutory demand; after the stay the parties failed to agree withdrawal/ discontinuance on neutral-costs terms and neither party's conduct justified uplifted or indemnity costs; accordingly costs are to lie where they fall.
19 Jul 2023
Because the application was served outside the mandatory 10 working day period and was not supported by the required affidavit when filed, the court had no power to set aside the bankruptcy notice; the act of bankruptcy occurred on expiry of the notice and could not be undone by late service or subsequent unsworn material, so the application is dismissed.
23 Jun 2023
Indemnity costs were not justified because the applicant's conduct, while amounting to failure to comply with directions and non‑appearance causing unnecessary steps, did not reach the threshold of flagrant or very bad conduct required for indemnity costs; increased costs were appropriate and a 50% uplift on 2B costs was awarded, giving $18,104.25 plus disbursements to be fixed by the Registrar; without prejudice offers could not be meaningfully compared given the strike out.
29 May 2023
The court granted the debtor's application because the reasoning and grounds in Xing v Wang [2023] NZHC 1273 applied to the present notice, warranting that the bankruptcy notice be set aside.
29 May 2023
The application to set aside the bankruptcy notice is granted because the court concluded that the reasoning in Xing v Wang [2023] NZHC 1273 applied to the present facts, warranting the setting aside of the notice; costs are to be determined as referenced in that prior judgment.
29 May 2023
The court granted the judgment debtor's application to set aside the bankruptcy notice because the reasons and legal analysis set out in Xing v Wang [2023] NZHC 1273 apply to this application.