Whitehall v Oxborough [2023] NSWDC 167

District Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Whitehall v Oxborough [2023] NSWDC 167 Hearing dates: 7 December 2023 and written submissions dated 21 February 2023 Date of orders: 23 May 2023 Decision date: 23 May 2023 Jurisdiction: Civil Before: Scotting DCJ Decision: 1 The plaintiff is to pay the defendant's costs of the proceedings on an indemnity basis assessed at $300,000.00. Catchwords: COSTS – gross sum costs order Legislation Cited: Civil Procedure Act 2005 Cases Cited: Hamod v State of New South Wales [2011] NSWCA 375 Idoport Pty Ltd v National Australia Bank [2007] NSWSC 23 Category: Costs Parties: Nathanial John Whitehall (Plaintiff) Terry Oxborough (Defendant) Representation: Counsel: R Potter SC (Defendant)

Solicitors: Self-represented (Plaintiff) Rostron Carlyle Rojas (Defendant) File Number(s): 2018/159739 Publication restriction: None

JUDGMENT

Introduction 1. The defendant seeks a gross sum costs order. 2. The plaintiff's proceedings were dismissed on 1 December 2022 after the plaintiff did not attend Court on the date when the proceedings were listed for hearing. This followed a period where the plaintiff was self-represented and participated intermittently in the proceedings. 3. On 1 December 2022 I ordered that the plaintiff pay the defendant's costs of the proceedings on an indemnity basis because there had been numerous occasions of non-compliance by the plaintiff with directions made in the proceedings. 4. The defendant relied on three affidavits of Ella Theresa Mackintosh affirmed 23 November 2022, 9 December 2022 and 22 December 2022.