FJ & PN Curran Pty Ltd v Almond Investors Land Pty Ltd (No 2)

[2019] VSCA 273

Victorian Court of Appeal

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Interrogate

Catchwords

1. Practice and Procedure
2. › Costs
3. › Costs of first instance proceeding after successful appeal
4. › Late amendment of statement of claim at trial
5. › Success of appeal significantly dependent on amendment
6. › Whether costs should be discounted
1. Practice and Procedure
2. › Costs
3. › Offer of compromise
4. › Offer made prior to amendment that determined outcome
5. › Whether refusal of offer was unreasonable
6. › Whether special circumstances warranting departure from indemnity costs rule
7. › County Court Rules, r 26.08
1. Practice and Procedure
2. › Costs
3. › Costs of appeal
4. › Appeal successful on some grounds but not others
5. › Pursuit of grounds evidently without merit
6. › Whether costs should be discounted
7. › Indiscriminate raising of unmeritorious grounds of appeal

Quick Take

Where an appellant's success on appeal depends significantly on late amendments to pleadings made during trial, the costs of the first instance proceeding may be discounted to reflect the late amendments. An offer of compromise made before the amendments that determined the outcome of the litigation will not attract indemnity costs, as the refusal of the offer was not unreasonable in those circumstances. Costs of an appeal may also be discounted where the appellant pursues grounds of appeal that lack evident merit.