Anderson Group Pty Ltd v Tynan Motors Pty Ltd (No 2)

In *Anderson Group Pty Ltd v Tynan Motors Pty Ltd (No 2)*, the New South Wales Court of Appeal considered an application for supplementary orders regarding costs following an successful appeal by Anderson Group Pty Ltd (the Appellant) against Tynan Motors Pty Ltd (the Respondent). The dispute concerned the assessment of costs on an indemnity basis, following the Appellant's prior offers of settlement.

The primary legal issues before the Court of Appeal were whether the Appellant, as the successful party, should be awarded costs on an indemnity basis, and if so, from what date such indemnity costs should be assessed, particularly in light of three formal offers of settlement made by the Appellant. The Court was required to determine if these offers constituted a "true compromise" sufficient to warrant an indemnity costs order.

The Court reasoned that one of the offers made in the District Court, dated 25 June 2003, involved only a marginal compromise and was arguably not a genuine compromise. This, coupled with the significant passage of time and the Appellant's initial adverse judgment, led the Court to give little weight to the District Court offers when considering the costs of the appeal. Consequently, the Court ordered that the ordinary costs order for the appeal would apply until the date from which indemnity costs were to be paid, as determined by an offer made in the Court of Appeal itself. The Court made supplementary orders, including that the verdict for the Appellant include specific interest, and that the Appellant's costs in both the District Court and the Court of Appeal be assessed on an indemnity basis from particular dates (1 October 2002 for the District Court and 8 September 2005 for the Court of Appeal).