Broughton v Leslie (No 2) [2019] NSWSC 984

Supreme Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Broughton v Leslie (No 2) [2019] NSWSC 984 Hearing dates: 1 August 2019 Decision date: 01 August 2019 Jurisdiction: Equity Before: Leeming JA Decision: 1. The first and fifth defendants pay the plaintiffs' costs of and incidental to the plaintiffs' contractual construction case on the question of water entitlements, such costs not including the plaintiffs' costs of their equitable rectification/estoppel case nor the costs of the plaintiffs' resignation/reallocation case.

2. The plaintiffs pay the first and fifth defendants' costs of and incidental to the plaintiffs' rectification/estoppel case, not including the first and fifth defendants' costs of the contractual construction case on the question of water entitlements.

3. The plaintiffs pay the first and fifth defendants' costs of and incidental to the plaintiffs' resignation/reallocation case, not including the first and fifth defendants' costs of the contractual construction case on the question of water entitlements.

4. No order as to costs of the application for costs, with the intent that the parties bear their own costs of the application for costs. Catchwords: COSTS – partial success of both sides – plaintiffs succeeded in contractual claim – where plaintiffs abandoned rectification and estoppel shortly prior to trial – where no evidence as to costs expended on abandoned claims – significance of rectification and estoppel being "defensive" – whether appropriate to make proportionate costs order – general undesirability of costs orders by reference to issues outweighed by discrete nature of issues and impossibility of estimating appropriate proportion even on broadbrush approach Cases Cited: Broughton v Leslie [2019] NSWSC 827 Doppstadt Australia Pty Ltd v Lovick & Sons Pty Ltd (No 2) [2014] NSWCA 219 Re The Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs of the Commonwealth of Australia; Ex parte Lai Qin (1997) 186 CLR 622; [1997] HCA 6 Category: Costs Parties: Gregory Paul Broughton (First Plaintiff) Kate Charlotte Broughton (Second Plaintiff) Rosalie Hazel Broughton (Third Plaintiff) Paul Broughton Investments Pty Ltd (Fourth Plaintiff) Rosalie Hazel Broughton, Gregory Paul Broughton and Kate Charlotte Broughton as trustees for the PR and GK Superannuation Fund (Fifth Plaintiff)