Wood v Firth (No 2) [2013] NSWSC 960

Supreme Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Wood v Firth (No 2) [2013] NSWSC 960 Hearing dates: Written submissions Decision date: 19 July 2013 Jurisdiction: Common Law Before: Beech-Jones J Decision: Plaintiff pay Defendant's costs. Catchwords: COSTS - no question of principle. Cases Cited: - Wood v Firth [2013] NSWSC 845 Category: Costs Parties: Phillip Wood (Plaintiff) Stephen Paul Firth t/a Firths the Compensation Lawyers (Defendant) Representation: In Chambers In Chambers File Number(s): 2012/396881 Decision under appeal Date of Decision: 2012-11-26 00:00:00 Before: Brydon LCM File Number(s): 2012/396881

Judgment 1On 27 June 2013 I published a judgment in these proceedings (Wood v Firth [2013] NSWSC 845). I dismissed the appeal and ordered that any submissions on costs were to be filed and served on or before 4 July 2013. In response the defendant filed submissions. The defendant pointed to an offer of compromise he served on 28 February 2013. Although he states that he bettered that offer, he only seeks an order that the plaintiff pay his costs on the usual basis. The plaintiff sent a number of emails containing submissions. In part those emails sought to reargue the substantive appeal. The balance of the emails submitted that there should be deducted from any costs that he is ordered to pay in this court various disbursements he incurred in conducting the proceedings in the Local Court. In substance that is also an attempt to reargue the substantive appeal. 2In light of the outcome of the appeal it is inevitable that the plaintiff must pay the defendant's costs. Accordingly, I order that the plaintiff pay the defendant's costs of the proceedings.