Goldberg v Beckett [2018] NSWSC 583

Supreme Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Goldberg v Beckett [2018] NSWSC 583 Hearing dates: 6 April 2018 Date of orders: 04 May 2018 Decision date: 04 May 2018 Jurisdiction: Common Law Before: Harrison J Decision: (1) Order Ms Beckett to pay Turner Freeman's costs of and incidental to these proceedings. (2) In accordance with s 98(4) of the Civil Procedure Act 2005, I direct that the costs referred to in order (1) be paid as a specified gross sum in the amount of $300,000. (3) The summons and cross-summons are otherwise dismissed. Catchwords: COSTS – party/party costs – where solicitor commenced proceedings for an injunction to enforce a solicitor's lien over the fruits of litigation – where solicitor's client sought to re-direct verdict monies into her own account contrary to the terms of a costs agreement and an authority to receive – where unnecessarily protracted litigation – where proceedings inappropriately used as a vehicle for defensive cross-claims that were doomed to fail and which were ultimately abandoned – whether specified gross sum costs order appropriate Legislation Cited: Civil Procedure Act 2005 (NSW), s 98(4) Legal Profession Act 2014 (NSW), ss 309, 316, 317, 368 Cases Cited: Beach Petroleum NL v Johnson (No 2) (1995) 57 FCR 119 Beckett v State of New South Wales [2015] NSWSC 1017 Goldberg v Beckett [2015] NSWSC 1966 Goldberg v Beckett [2016] NSWSC 1646 Goldberg v Beckett [2017] NSWSC 1075 Hamod v State of New South Wales (No 13) [2009] NSWSC 756 Hamod v State of New South Wales [2011] NSWCA 375 Russo & Ors v Russo & Ors (No 4) [2016] NSWSC 1133 Category: Costs 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: J McDonald (Plaintiffs)