The Court held that indemnity costs were warranted only in respect of the Cobblers Lane Property claims from the date of an open offer (23 June 2025), finding CCV's rejection of that offer unreasonable given the evident weaknesses in its case and the generous terms of the offer which would have secured unrealised profit exceeding $2.2 million. The Court rejected the defendants' primary claim for indemnity costs across all three property claims from 29 November 2024, holding it was not unreasonable for the plaintiffs to reject the Wilson Street Property offers given legitimate issues warranting testing at trial, including the causal role of a feasibility assessment and the use of EstateMaster software. The stay of the costs order pending appeal was refused, as the plaintiffs failed to demonstrate special or exceptional circumstances, advancing only generalised submissions without evidence that a successful appeal would be rendered nugatory.
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