Coulter v Bush; Coulter v Domain Residential Northern Beaches Pty Ltd (Costs) [2024] NSWSC 351

Supreme Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Coulter v Bush; Coulter v Domain Residential Northern Beaches Pty Ltd (Costs) [2024] NSWSC 351 Hearing dates: On the Papers Date of orders: 4 April 2024 Decision date: 04 April 2024 Jurisdiction: Common Law Before: Hammerschlag CJ in Eq Decision: (1) The Second Defendant is to pay the First and Second Plaintiffs' costs on the ordinary basis as agreed or assessed. (2) The First Cross-Defendant is to pay the First Cross-Claimant's costs of the proceedings on the: (a) ordinary basis as agreed or assessed up to and including 3 March 2024; and (b) indemnity basis on and from 4 March 2024. (3) The First and Second Plaintiffs are to pay the First Defendant's costs, if any, attributable exclusively to his defence of the Statement of Claim, on the ordinary basis as agreed or assessed. Catchwords: COSTS – Where real estate agent employed by the owner of a property negligently causes it to be burnt down – Where tenants of the owner and the owner sue the agent in tort and succeed – Where in addition the tenants bring an unmaintainable claim against the owner for alleged breach of their tenancy agreement which is successfully defended by the owner – Whether the real estate agent should pay the owner's costs of resisting the tenants' contractual claim – HELD that justice does not dictate that the real estate agent bear the owner's costs of defeating a manifestly untenable claim even though the litigation as a whole was caused by the conduct of the real estate agent – The tenants should pay the owner's costs, if any, attributable exclusively to his defence of the contractual claim on the ordinary basis as agreed or assessed. Category: Costs Parties: 2021/00268164: Elise Louise Coulter (First Plaintiff) Joshua Reginald Songaila (Second Plaintiff) Peter Alan Bush (First Defendant, First Cross-Claimant) Domain Residential Northern Beaches Pty Limited (Second Defendant, First Cross-Defendant)