Michael Wilson & Partners Ltd v Porter (No 5) [2025] FCA 5

Federal Court of Australia

Michael Wilson & Partners Ltd v Porter (No 5) [2025] FCA 5 File number: NSD 767 of 2021

Judgment of: COLVIN J

Date of judgment: 13 January 2025

Catchwords: PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE - where orders made pursuant to s 54A(1) of the Federal Court of Australia Act 1976 (Cth) for costs to be quantified on a lump sum basis by a registrar acting as a referee – application to extend time for seeking orders to the effect that the report of the referee not be adopted – application refused – consideration of procedural orders to be made as to adoption of referee's report – directions made to allow for application to adopt report of registrar acting as referee to be made by email to associate to the case managing judge

Legislation: Federal Court Rules 2011 (Cth) r 28.67

Cases cited: Finnegan v Washington (No 4) [2024] FCA 1054 Michael Wilson & Partners Ltd v Porter (No 4) [2024] FCA 163

Division: General Division

Registry: New South Wales

National Practice Area: Commercial and Corporations

Sub-area: General and Personal Insolvency

Number of paragraphs: 27

Date of hearing: Determined on the papers

Counsel for the Applicant: No appearance

Counsel for the Respondents: No appearance

ORDERS NSD 767 of 2021

BETWEEN: MICHAEL WILSON & PARTNERS LTD Applicant

AND: JASON LLOYD PORTER First Respondent

RICHARD MORETTI Second Respondent

order made by: COLVIN J DATE OF ORDER: 13 January 2025

THE COURT ORDERS THAT:

1. The application by the applicant to further extend the time within which any application pursuant to r 28.67(1) of the Federal Court Rules 2011 (Cth) (Application to Extend Time) for any order other than an order that the report be adopted may be filed be determined on the papers. 2. The Application to Extend Time is refused. 3. Upon the bringing of an application by the respondents for an order pursuant to s 54A of the Federal Court of Australia Act 1976 (Cth) in respect of the referee report dated 18 November 2024, it be ordered that the referee report be adopted and the quantum of the costs that the applicant was ordered to pay to the respondents by orders dated 28 February 2024 be fixed in the amount of $16,322.38. 4. There be leave to the respondents to make an application for the purposes of order 3 by email to the associate to the case managing judge. 5. No further document may be filed in these proceedings by the applicant without leave first having been obtained from the case managing judge. Note: Entry of orders is dealt with in Rule 39.32 of the Federal Court Rules 2011.