Giabal Pty Ltd v Gunns Plantations Ltd (in liquidation) [2023] NSWSC 184

Supreme Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Giabal Pty Ltd v Gunns Plantations Ltd (in liquidation) [2023] NSWSC 184 Hearing dates: 2 March 2023 Date of orders: 2 March 2023 Decision date: 02 March 2023 Jurisdiction: Equity Before: Darke J Decision: No order as to costs as between the plaintiffs and the first and second defendants to the intent that, as between them, those parties bear their own costs. Catchwords: COSTS – general rule that costs follow the event – application of the rule and discretion – where the first and second defendants seek an order that the plaintiffs pay their costs of the proceedings – where the plaintiffs have not accepted any of the Calderbank offers made by the first and second defendants – where leave to proceed against the insolvent first and second defendants was revoked by the Court – where there was no determination of the proceedings on the merits – whether the revocation of leave to proceed is an "event" for the purposes of the general rule as to costs contained in UCPR r 42.1 – whether the failure of the plaintiffs to accept any Calderbank offers was unreasonable in the circumstances – order made that parties bear their own costs Legislation Cited: Civil Procedure Act 2005 (NSW), ss 98 and 173 Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), s 500(2) Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005 (NSW), r 42.1 Cases Cited: Nichols v NFS Agribusiness Pty Ltd (2018) 97 NSWLR 681; [2018] NSWCA 84 Re Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs; Ex parte Lai Qin (1997) 186 CLR 622 Category: Costs Parties: Giabal Pty Ltd (First Plaintiff) Geoffry Underwood (Second Plaintiff) Gunns Plantations Ltd (in liquidation) (First Defendant) Gunns Ltd (in liquidation) (Second Defendant) Wayne Leonard Chapman (Third Defendant) Robert Watson and Erica Gay as the legal personal representatives for the estate of the late John Eugene Gay (Fourth Defendant) Rodney John Loone (Fifth Defendant) Leslie Ralph Baker (Sixth Defendant) Robert Henry Graham (Seventh Defendant) Robin Gray (Eighth Defendant) Paul Desmond Teisseire (Ninth Defendant) Andrew Gray (Tenth Defendant) Mathew Gary Wallace (Eleventh Defendant) Catlin Australia Pty Ltd (Twelfth Defendant) Chubb Insurance Australia Ltd (Thirteenth Defendant) Representation: Counsel: Mr I Pike SC with Mr T L Bagley (Plaintiffs) Mr L Currie (First and Second Defendants) Mr J A Arnott SC (Tenth to Eleventh Defendants) Mr D L Williams SC with Mr A J Barnett (Twelfth to Thirteenth Defendants) Mr G Donnellan with Mr E Olivier (LCM Operations Pty Ltd – intervening)