APPEAL — costs assessment — appeal from decision of the Costs Assessment Review Panel pursuant to s 89 of the Legal Profession Uniform Law Application Act 2014 (NSW) — where amount of costs in dispute below $100,000 — jurisdiction to hear appeal — leave to appeal — whether costs fair and reasonable
Quick Take
1On an appeal under s 89(1)(b) of the Legal Profession Uniform Law Application Act 2014 (NSW) where the amount in dispute is below $100,000, leave is required and will only be granted where there is an error of principle, a matter of public importance, or injustice that is reasonably clear and goes beyond what is merely arguable.
2A costs assessment review panel's evaluative judgment as to whether hourly rates charged for a non-lawyer employee's work are 'fair and reasonable' attracts a lower standard of appellate scrutiny, particularly where the panel has applied specialist expertise to characterise the nature and level of the work performed.
3An issue not raised before the Review Panel — such as a contention that work was 'legal rather than financial' in nature — cannot be raised for the first time on appeal, as the appeal is confined to the decision of the Review Panel and is by way of rehearing, not de novo hearing.
