1The ordinary rule in applications for appointment of trustees for sale of co-owned property is that costs of all parties are paid from the proceeds of sale, on the rationale that costs are incidental to co-ownership.
2The court may depart from the ordinary rule where unreasonable conduct has led to unnecessary costs, or where opposition was mounted on grounds lacking cogency — though unsuccessful resistance to a sale order does not automatically exclude the ordinary rule.
3Where the only party to incur legal costs is the successful majority co-owner, the ordinary rule may produce injustice by requiring that party to bear a substantial proportion of their own costs; a split costs order — partly from the proceeds generally and partly from the unsuccessful party's share — may appropriately balance competing considerations including the rejection of a reasonable pre-litigation settlement offer.
