Aklia Holdings Pty Ltd v The Carter Group Pty Ltd (in liq) (No 2)

The case of Aklia Holdings Pty Ltd v The Carter Group Pty Ltd (in liq) (No 2) dealt with a dispute between two parties, where each had filed separate applications that resulted in partial success. The matter was before the court to determine the appropriate allocation of costs between the parties. The court was required to decide whether the costs should be reserved or if they should follow the event, taking into account the partial success achieved by each party in their respective applications.

The legal issue at hand was the allocation of costs in a situation where each party had achieved partial success in their interlocutory applications. The court considered the principle that costs should generally follow the event, but also had to determine if there were exceptional circumstances that warranted reserving some or all of the costs. The court evaluated the nature and extent of the success achieved by each party, as well as the conduct of the parties during the proceedings.

The court concluded that costs should follow the event but determined that there were exceptional circumstances that warranted reserving some of the costs. It found that the plaintiff should bear two thirds of the defendants’ costs of the application filed on 18 April 2016, and the defendant by counterclaim should bear two thirds of the defendants’ costs of the application filed on 16 August 2016. Furthermore, the plaintiff was ordered to pay half of the defendants’ costs of the application filed on 28 July 2016. These orders reflect the court's assessment of the respective successes achieved by the parties and the need for a balanced allocation of costs.