Hancock v Rinehart (Lump sum costs)

[2015] NSWSC 1640

Supreme Court of NSW

View on CaseLaw

Built by Barristers,
For Australian Law.

See how it works

Interrogate

Catchwords

1. Costs
2. › Gross sum costs order
3. › Quantification
4. › Whether claimed costs within scope of indemnity costs order
5. › Whether costs relate to application for removal of trustee
6. › Construction of consent costs order
7. › Civil Procedure Act 2005 (NSW), s 101(4)
1. Costs
2. › Interlocutory costs orders
3. › Interaction with final costs order
4. › Whether general indemnity costs order supersedes earlier interlocutory costs orders
5. › Whether indemnity basis of assessment applies to costs under earlier orders
6. › Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005 (NSW), r 42.7
1. Costs
2. › Indemnity principle
3. › Whether costs actually paid to solicitor recoverable where solicitor not legally entitled to charge amount paid
4. › Construction of costs agreement
5. › Relevance of date of costs order
6. › Whether Catto exception applies where payment made after costs order
1. Costs
2. › Multiple plaintiffs
3. › Joint and several retainers
4. › Whether liability under retainers joint or several
5. › Rebuttable presumption where separate retainers executed
6. › Whether presumption rebutted
7. › Apportionment of costs among co-plaintiffs
8. › Rights of contribution

Quick Take

A final indemnity costs order serves a dual function: it entitles the successful party to costs not otherwise covered by interlocutory orders, and it provides that all costs recoverable from the liable party (including under earlier orders) are assessed on the indemnity basis. The Catto exception — permitting recovery of costs actually paid to a solicitor even where the solicitor could not enforce the claim — does not apply where payment was made after the date of the costs order, and should be limited to payments made not merely bona fide but also reasonably. Where a detailed itemised bill has been scrutinised and no unreasonableness identified, no general discount on a gross sum costs order is warranted on an indemnity assessment.