BHP Coal Pty Ltd and Ors v O & K Orenstein & Koppel AG and Ors (No 2)

[2009] QSC 64

Supreme Court of Queensland

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Interrogate

Catchwords

1. Practice and Procedure
2. › Costs
3. › General rule — costs follow the event
4. › Departure from general rule
5. › Costs of particular questions or parts of proceedings
6. › Whether successful plaintiff's costs should be reduced for failure on specific issues
7. › Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 1999 (Qld), rr 681, 684
1. Practice and Procedure
2. › Costs
3. › Indemnity costs
4. › Whether unreasonable conduct of unsuccessful party warranted indemnity costs order
5. › Whether advancing weak but arguable defences constitutes unreasonable conduct
6. › Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 1999 (Qld), r 702
1. Practice and Procedure
2. › Costs
3. › Departure from general rule
4. › Conduct of parties
5. › Whether failure to tender foreshadowed expert reports warrants adverse costs order
6. › Whether abandonment of alternative pleading warrants adverse costs order
7. › Whether inclusion of unsuccessful plaintiff warrants reduction in costs

Quick Take

A successful plaintiff's costs may be reduced under UCPR r 684 where a discrete claim was fundamentally flawed on uncontroversial facts and occupied a significant part of the trial, but failure on fairly arguable alternative claims does not warrant departure from the general rule. Advancing weak but arguable defences does not constitute unreasonable or irresponsible conduct sufficient to justify indemnity costs.