The Supreme Court held that s 127C of the Motor Vehicles Act 1959 (SA) operates as a mandatory cap on the scale at which costs may be ordered in motor vehicle personal injury claims under $100,000, but does not abrogate the general costs discretion under s 37(1) of the Magistrates Court Act; the section constrains the rate, not the entitlement. The Court further held that while bettering a filed offer alone does not constitute 'exceptional circumstances' under s 127C(1)(b), the combined circumstances of bettering a filed offer representing a genuine compromise, the extent of the betterment, and the significant financial disadvantage suffered by a plaintiff who appropriately transferred proceedings to a lower-cost jurisdiction can together amount to exceptional circumstances justifying costs in excess of the designated scale. The Court also determined that the UCR, not the former MCC Rules, governed the costs application because the application for costs was the relevant 'step in the proceedings' and was taken after the UCR commencement date.
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