Bechara v Bonacorso (No. 5) [2010] NSWDC 260

New South Wales District Court

CITATION: Bechara v Bonacorso (No. 5) [2010] NSWDC 260

HEARING DATE(S): 10 November 2010 EX TEMPORE JUDGMENT DATE : 10 November 2010

JURISDICTION: Civil

JUDGMENT OF: Gibson DCJ

DECISION: (1) Vary order 2 of my orders of 15 October 2010 to provide that the plaintiff pay the defendant's costs of these proceedings on a party and party basis until 29 August 2009, and on an indemnity basis thereafter; (2) The plaintiff pay the defendant's costs of this motion on an indemnity basis.

CATCHWORDS: Tort - defamation - costs - plaintiff unsuccessful in defamation proceedings - defendant seeks indemnity costs for offer of compromise made before the matter was set down for trial - consideration of legislative provisions designed to promote the making of offers in defamation proceedings

Defamation Act 1974 (NSW), s 48A LEGISLATION CITED: Defamation Act 2005 (NSW), s 40 Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005 (NSW), rr 20.26, 42.15A

Antoniadis v TCN Channel Nine Pty Ltd (Supreme Court of New South Wales, 24 April 1997) Bechara v Bonacorso (No. 4) [2010] NSWDC 234 Davis v Nationwide News Pty Ltd [2008] NSWSC 946 Gaskin v Ollerenshaw [2010] NSWSC 874 Habib v Nationwide News Pty Ltd (No. 2) [2010] NSWCA 291 Hennessy v Lynch (No. 4) [2008] NSWDC 15 CASES CITED: Larach v Urriola (No 2) [2009] NSWDC 142 Leichhardt Municipal Council v Green [2004] NSWCA 341 Melchior v Sydney Adventist Hospital [2009] NSWSC 65 National Auto Glass Supplies (Aust) Pty Ltd v Nielsen & Moller Auto Glass (NSW) Pty Ltd (No.9) [2007] FCA 1826 Regency Media Pty Ltd v AAV Australia Pty Ltd [2009] NSWCA 368 Skalkos v Assaf [2002] NSWCA 14 Skalkos v T S Recoveries Pty Ltd [2004] NSWCA 281