Under s 43(3) of the Magistrates Court (Civil Proceedings) Act 2004 (WA), only the future costs of the appeal to the Court of Appeal are relevant to the proportionality assessment; past costs incurred at first instance and on intermediate appeal are irrelevant. The first limb targets cases where the claim amount is small relative to appeal costs; the second limb ('nature of the case') is directed at cases involving minor issues not justifying appellate consideration (per [name withheld]) or claims for non-monetary relief of limited value (per [name withheld]). The court also signalled that all civil courts in Western Australia must actively manage proceedings to ensure proportionality between litigation costs and the amount in dispute.
The full text is available to signed-in members, including the 11 later cases that cite this judgment.
6 of the 11 citing cases carry a classified treatment. How each court treated it is available to signed-in members.