Hadid v Australis Media Limited [1999] NSWSC 32

New South Wales Supreme Court CITATION : Hadid v Australis Media Limited [1999] NSWSC 32 CURRENT JURISDICTION : Commercial Division FILE NUMBER(S) : 50226/95 HEARING DATE(S) : 14-15 December 1998 JUDGMENT DATE : 11 February 1999

(First Plaintiff) Albert Hadid (Second Plaintif) Broadpay Services Pty Limited PARTIES : v (First Defendant) Australis Media Limited (Second Defendant) Wayne Leonard Burt JUDGMENT OF : Sperling J

(Plaintiffs): R V Gyles QC, D A Caspersonn COUNSEL : (First Defendant): D J Hammerschlag (Second Defendant): L J Foster SC (Plaintiffs): McClellands SOLICITORS : (First Defendant): Freehill Hollingdale & Page (Second Defendant): Phillips Fox CATCHWORDS : DAMAGES - breach of warranty of authority - whether costs of suing the putative principal recoverable as damages; DAMAGES - causation - breach of warranty of authority - whether costs of suing the putative principal resulted from breach; JUDGMENTS - breach of warranty of authority but no compensable damage - whether judgment for plaintiff for nominal damages or judgment for defendant; COSTS - Calderbank letter - whether costs recoverable on an indemnity basis. DECISION : (1) Held costs not recoverable as damages; (2) Judgment in favour of defendants; (3) Plaintiffs to pay defendants' costs on a party and party basis to a certain date and on an indemnity basis thereafter.

1 In these proceedings, Mr Hadid ("the plaintiff"), as one of two plaintiffs, sued Australis Media Limited ("Australis") and Dr W L Burt. The claim against Australis was for damages for breach of contract and against Dr Burt for breach of warranty of authority. I delivered a judgment on 30 June 1997, in which I held that but for the absence of authority on the part of Dr Burt to contract on behalf of Australis there would have been a binding agreement between Australis and Mr Hadid, and that there was no such authority. I held, accordingly, that there was a breach of warrant for authority by Dr Burt. (The claim by the other plaintiff fell away in the course of the hearing.)