The Court of Appeal refused leave to appeal from a declaration that a solicitor held a lien over costs payable by the State of New South Wales to the applicant. The Court held that the trial judge correctly excluded evidence of an alleged contract or arrangement between the applicant and the solicitor regarding distribution of costs, as that issue was distinct from the question of whether the solicitor's lien existed over those costs. The declaration as to the lien did not determine the parties' respective entitlements to the costs once paid.
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