INTEREST — calculation of pre-judgment interest — whether interest should run from the date the cause of action arose or from the date it was first pleaded — no issue of principle
COSTS — party/party costs — general rule that costs follow the event — whether there should be an apportionment of costs in respect of issues on which the Plaintiffs failed — no issue of principle
Quick Take
1Pre-judgment interest under s 100 of the Civil Procedure Act 2005 (NSW) runs from the date the cause of action arose — not from the date the claim was first pleaded or invoiced — and delay in commencing proceedings or amending pleadings will not reduce the interest period absent evidence of detriment to the defendant or other exceptional circumstances.
2Where a court rejects the positions of both parties on a significant issue and reaches an intermediate conclusion, it may decline to reduce the successful party's costs in respect of that issue, even though the issue occupied a substantial portion of the hearing.
3Costs orders framed by reference to the multiple capacities in which a single corporate defendant was sued may be rejected in favour of a broad-brush percentage reduction where the capacity-based approach would cause confusion and increase assessment costs.
