Wood v Inglis (Costs) [2009] NSWSC 900

New South Wales Supreme Court

CITATION : Wood v Inglis (Costs) [2009] NSWSC 900

HEARING DATE(S) : 28 August 2009

JUDGMENT DATE : 1 September 2009

JURISDICTION : Equity Division

JUDGMENT OF : Brereton J

DECISION : Order that the second, third and fourth cross-defendants pay the cross-claimant's costs of the proceedings on the issues determined separately

CATCHWORDS : PROCEDURE – Costs – departing from the general rule – Whether costs should be borne by the estate – probate and trust proceedings – whether proceedings were analogous to construction suit – Held: proceedings not analogous to construction suit – Whether proceedings fault of deceased – where confusion more attributable to activities of parties after death than conduct of deceased – Held: proceedings not fault of deceased – Whether agitation of issues ultimately not necessary to determine warrant any special costs order - Held: no costs can be regarded as attributable to maintenance of unsubstantiated and unjustified issue

CATEGORY : Consequential orders

Adey v Fisher (1914) 14 SR (NSW) 407 Butcher v Lachlan Elder Realty [2002] NSWCA 237, (2002) 55 NSWLR 558 Chang v Tjiong [2009] NSWSC 122 Higstrim v Ray (1895) 16 NSWLR (Eq) 1 In Re Buckton; Buckton v Buckton [1907] 2 Ch 406 In re Groom [1897] 2 Ch 407 In re Hall-Dare [1916] 1 Ch 272 CASES CITED : Milillo v Konnecke [2009] NSWCA 109 Murdocca v Murdocca (No 2) [2002] NSWSC 505 Parker v McKenna (1874) LR 10 Ch App 96 Re Estate of Hodges; Shorter v Hodges (1988) 14 NSWLR 698 Re Stone; Read v Dubua (1936) 36 SR (NSW) 508 Shorten v Shorten [2002] NSWCA 73 Wood v Inglis [2008] NSWSC 1147 Wood v Inglis [2008] NSWSC 1427 Wood v Inglis [2009] NSWSC 601