The Court held that the general rule that costs follow the event applied on appeal, notwithstanding that the appeal arose from inadequate reasons by the trial judge rather than fault of either party, and that the absence of a statutory indemnity fund (such as exists in NSW and Victoria) does not displace the general costs rule. A 10% reduction in recoverable costs was ordered to reflect the appellant's failure to file its notice of appeal within the 28-day statutory period under s 19(1)(a) of the LCCPA, treating the extension of time application as an indulgence. The Court expressly left unresolved whether s 162(5) of the Police Administration Act prevents a successful plaintiff from recovering costs in the Local Court in police tort claims, noting the issue was not fully argued and should be determined by the trial judge on remittal.
The full text is available to signed-in members, including the 1 later case that cites this judgment.