Amirbeaggi v EB

Amirbeaggi (the applicant) sought to review decisions of the District Court of New South Wales concerning the calculation of a threshold amount for leave to appeal in a costs assessment dispute. The underlying dispute involved a costs assessment conducted under the *Legal Profession Uniform Law Application Act 2014* (NSW).

The primary legal issues before the Court of Appeal were whether the District Court had made a jurisdictional error in its calculation of the threshold amount for leave to appeal, and whether the District Court had erred in law on the face of the record. Specifically, the court had to determine the meaning of "costs" in the context of s 89(1)(a) of the *Legal Profession Uniform Law Application Act 2014* (NSW), particularly whether it included the costs of the costs assessment itself, and whether such costs could be claimed before the initial costs assessor or review panel.

The Court of Appeal held that the District Court had correctly interpreted s 89(1)(a) of the *Legal Profession Uniform Law Application Act 2014* (NSW). The court reasoned that the "costs" referred to in the section were the costs of the original legal services, not the costs of the assessment process. As no claim for the costs of the assessment had been made before the assessor or review panel, the threshold amount for leave to appeal to the District Court had not been met. Consequently, the District Court had not erred in law or jurisdiction.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the applicant's summons seeking to review the District Court's orders and ordered that the applicant pay the respondents' costs.