Arya v Kone Elevators Pty Ltd and Anor (No.2)

In *Arya v Kone Elevators Pty Ltd and Anor (No.2)*, the applicant sought to oppose orders for costs made in favour of the respondents. The dispute concerned the respondents' entitlement to costs on both a party/party and an indemnity basis, following the applicant's refusal of multiple Calderbank offers and the making of unreasonable counter-offers.

The central legal issue before Judge McNab was whether the respondents were entitled to recover their costs on an indemnity basis, in addition to the standard party/party basis, given the circumstances surrounding the Calderbank offers. This required the court to assess the reasonableness of the applicant's conduct in refusing the offers and making counter-offers.

Judge McNab reasoned that the applicant's repudiation of the Calderbank offers was unreasonable, and that the counter-offers made by the applicant were also unreasonable. Consequently, the court determined that the respondents were entitled to costs on an indemnity basis from 1 June 2019 onwards. The applicant was ordered to pay the respondents' costs up to 31 May 2019 on a party/party basis, and thereafter on an indemnity basis, including the costs of the application for costs. The respondents were directed to provide a schedule of costs within 14 days, and the matter was referred to a Registrar for the determination of a lump sum of costs.