An appeal may proceed despite costs being disproportionate to the claim amount where the appeal raises a question of legal principle of general application, the costs are in reality borne by commercial entities rather than the named parties, and the determination would benefit the administration of justice. The question of the extent to which credit hire charges are recoverable as damages remains open in Australia and will be addressed by the WA Court of Appeal in the substantive hearing.
The full text is available to signed-in members, including the 5 later cases that cite this judgment.
2 of the 5 citing cases carry a classified treatment. How each court treated it is available to signed-in members.