Wassell v Ken Carr Bobcat & Tipper Hire Pty Ltd (No 2) [2021] NSWSC 1616

Supreme Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Wassell v Ken Carr Bobcat & Tipper Hire Pty Ltd (No 2) [2021] NSWSC 1616 Hearing dates: On the papers Date of orders: 13 December 2021 Decision date: 13 December 2021 Jurisdiction: Equity Before: Robb J Decision: The costs of the defendant that the plaintiffs were ordered to pay by order 9 made on 11 November 2021 are to be assessed on the ordinary basis. Catchwords: COSTS — Party/Party — Bases of quantification — Ordinary basis — Where successful defendant sought an order that the plaintiffs pay its costs on the indemnity basis for failing to accept a Calderbank offer categorised as a 'walk away' with each party paying its own costs — Where the Court accepted that the offer did not involve a sufficient level of compromise and that it was reasonable for the plaintiffs to have rejected the offer — Where costs ordered to be assessed on the ordinary basis — No point of principle Cases Cited: CEG Direct Securities Pty Ltd v Wang [2021] NSWCA 76 Fabre v Lui (No 2) [2015] NSWCA 312 Miwa Pty Ltd v Siantan Properties Pte Ltd (No 2) [2011] NSWCA 344 South Western Sydney Local Health District v Gould (No 2) [2018] NSWCA 160 Taheri v Vitek (No 2) [2014] NSWCA 344 Wassell v Ken Carr Bobcat & Tipper Hire Pty Ltd [2021] NSWSC 1415 Category: Costs Parties: David Ian Wassell (first plaintiff/ cross-defendant on the first cross-claim/ cross-claimant on the second cross-claim) Ya Jun Jiang Wassell (second plaintiff/ cross-defendant on the first cross-claim/ cross-claimant on the second cross-claim) Ken Carr Bobcat & Tipper Hire Pty Ltd (defendant/ cross-claimant on the first cross-claim) Registrar-General of New South Wales (third cross-defendant on the first cross-claim/ first cross-defendant on the second cross-claim) Representation: Counsel: J Baird (first and second plaintiffs/ cross-defendants on the first cross-claim/ cross-claimants on the second cross-claim) D Weinberger (defendant/ cross-claimant on the first cross-claim) L A Walsh (third cross-defendant on the first cross-claim/ first cross-defendant on the second cross-claim)