The matter of Alexiou v Alexandra White and ors t/as HWL Ebsworth Lawyers [2021] NSWSC 485 handed down on 7 May 2021 examines the oft fraught question as to ownership of file notes made by a solicitor in the course of representation and whether a solicitor is entitled to charge a former client for the…
The central issue in Behnia v Sarraf [2019] NSWDC 138, was where a final order is made does it override an earlier costs orders. In Behnia the final order in the Supreme Court proceedings was by consent and with an order that each party pay their own costs of the proceedings. At the time there was an existing order which the consent orders did not…
The High Court has today handed down the highly anticipated decision in Bell Lawyers Pty Ltd v Janet Pentelow & Anor [2019] HCA 29. The Chorley exception There is a general rule that a self-represented litigant is not entitled to professional costs for acting for himself or herself in legal proceedings. The Chorley exception was…
The perils of issuing a statutory demand for fees In this first of what is likely to be an ongoing series of articles, we look at the matter of Rusca Bros Services Pty Ltd v DLaw Pty Ltd, in the matter of Rusca Bros Services Pty Ltd [2019] FCA 562 determined by Markovic J on…
From Allocatur to Incipitur – It has begun We are now starting to see the effect of the (not quite so) recent changes to the Civil Procedure Act 2005 trickle down into cost assessments in relation to interest. S101(4) of the CPA now reads: (4) Unless the court orders otherwise, interest is payable on an…
Is a tax invoice an itemised bill? An interesting case came out of Supreme Court Victoria court of Appeal recently addressing what constitutes an itemised bill for the purposes of taxation (in that jurisdiction). The matter of Piper Alderman v Kerryn Linda Smoel And Susan Carolyn Wooster (In Their Capacity As The Trustees Of The…
“Without Prejudice” or “Without Prejudice Save As to Costs” What’s the difference? The question was recently considered by the Federal Court of Australia in Romero v Farstad Shipping (Indian Pacific) Pty Ltd (No 4) [2017] FCA 120 handing down it’s judgment on 20 February 2017. This long running and no doubt expensive matter concerned a…
As a general rule solicitors engage barristers to undertake specialized work for their clients. This often requires briefing the barrister to appear at the hearing. In many a barrister’s costs agreement you may find the right to charge a cancellation fee if the hearing does not proceed, especially with more senior barristers, whose daily rate…
Failures in disclosure not to affect party party recovery and a consideration of Wentworth v Rogers The recent matter of Royal v El Ali (No 3) [2016] FCA 1573 concerned a successful application for a gross sum cost order against the respondents, pursuant to the Federal Court Rules. The matter raised a number of important…
