1A [name withheld] offer that is not bettered at trial may justify departing from the rule that costs follow the event, depending on whether the offer was a genuine attempt to settle, whether it gave an appropriate opportunity to consider it, and whether non-acceptance was unreasonable. Where the offer has no time limit, non-acceptance may become unreasonable only after a reasonable period for the offeree to make the enquiries needed to assess its prospects, and costs consequences may run from that point.
2Non-disclosure of a key witness's statement did not make non-acceptance reasonable where, on the facts, the offer letter itself and a police report put the plaintiff on notice of that witness's likely evidence, and the plaintiff could have contacted the witness much earlier. The plaintiff's later offer to accept a higher sum also showed it would not have accepted the offer anyway.
3Indemnity costs require special or unusual circumstances such as misconduct. Pleading or advancing a non-binding statutory liability admission, late disclosure arising from oversight, and similar conduct undertaken in good faith did not meet that threshold. Where the plaintiff is a foreign national without local assets, the court may order the plaintiff's assessed costs liability to be set off against the judgment sum before payment (a [name withheld] v [name withheld] order).
Case Details
Citation[2014] QSC 69
CourtQSC
JurisdictionQueensland
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