Goldberg v Beckett [2015] NSWSC 1966

Supreme Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Goldberg v Beckett [2015] NSWSC 1966 Hearing dates: 16 December 2015 Date of orders: 18 December 2015 Decision date: 18 December 2015 Jurisdiction: Common Law Before: Harrison J Decision: 1. Plaintiffs' application for an order that the funds in court be paid to them pending ascertainment of their entitlement to costs by assessment or otherwise is dismissed. 2. The costs of this application are the plaintiffs' costs in the proceedings. 3. Stand over the proceedings before me on 5 February 2016 for mention. Catchwords: SOLICITORS – costs – solicitors' lien – conditional costs agreement entitling solicitors to be paid their costs from the judgment sum – where client purports to countermand an irrevocable authority directed to the unsuccessful defendant and to direct payment to herself – whether lien affected by alleged breaches of the Legal Profession Act 2004 – whether lien operates to secure payment of costs notwithstanding (unproved) breaches of the Act – whether lien entitles solicitors to beneficial receipt of costs and disbursements secured by lien in advance of the ascertainment by assessment or otherwise or the final amount of their costs Legislation Cited: Legal Profession Act 2004 Cases Cited: Firth v Centrelink [2002] NSWSC 564; (2002) 55 NSWLR 451 Salvatore Blanda v Kemp Strang Lawyers Pty Ltd [2006] NSWSC 48 Category: Procedural and other rulings Parties: Terence Louis Goldberg, Armando Gardiman and Thady Blundell t/as Turner Freeman (Plaintiffs) Roseanne Beckett (First Defendant/Cross-Claimant) The State of New South Wales (Second Defendant) Representation: Counsel: K Rees SC (Plaintiffs) T G R Parker SC with M Castle and A Bailey (First Defendant)