Kekatos Lawyers Pty Ltd v Rahme (No 2) [2023] NSWSC 651

Supreme Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Kekatos Lawyers Pty Ltd v Rahme (No 2) [2023] NSWSC 651 Hearing dates: 20 April 2023 Date of orders: 16 June 2023 Decision date: 16 June 2023 Jurisdiction: Common Law Before: Schmidt AJ Decision: 1. Appeal allowed. 2. The application to recall the judgment is refused. 3. Mrs Rahme pay Kekatos Lawyers: a. $35,009.50; b. $3,916 (being $3,298 for filing fee of the Summons and $618 for the Statement of Claim); c. $13,228.96 (pre-judgment interest); d. its costs at first instance and on the appeal on the indemnity cost basis; and. e. post-judgment interest in accordance with s 101 of the Civil Procedure Act 2005 (NSW). Catchwords: COSTS — Exceptions to general rule that costs follow the event — Misconduct of a party — abuse of process unsuccessfully defended on appeal — indemnity costs order made JUDGMENTS AND ORDERS — Amending, varying and setting aside — For alleged errors in judgment— no error found — order recalling judgment not made Legislation Cited: Civil Procedure Act 2005 (NSW), ss 56, 57, 58, 101 Legal Profession Uniform Law (NSW), s 169 Local Court Act 2007 (NSW), s 39 Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005 (NSW) Cases Cited: Autodesk Inc v Dyason (No 2) (1993) 176 CLR 300; [1993] HCA 6 Baillieu Knight Frank (NSW) Pty Ltd v Ted Manny Real Estate Pty Ltd (1992) 30 NSWLR 359 Kekatos Lawyers Pty Ltd v Rahme [2023] NSWSC 528 Oschlack v Richmond River Council (1998) 195 CLR 72; [1998] HCA 11 Roach v R [2019] NSWCCA 160 Rose v Tunstall [2018] NSWCA 241 Category: Costs Parties: Kekatos Lawyers Pty Ltd (Plaintiff) Dana Rahme (Defendant) Representation: Counsel: Mr Q Rares (Plaintiff) Mr C Bevan (Defendant)