BAINEY & BAINEY (No.2)

This matter concerned an application by the wife, Mrs Bainey, for an order that the husband, Mr Bainey, pay her legal costs of the proceedings in the Family Court of Australia. The dispute arose from an application for final property settlement orders.

The primary legal issue before Riley J was whether the wife should be awarded costs against the husband, and if so, on what basis. This involved considering the general rule that parties bear their own costs in family law proceedings, and the exceptions to this rule, particularly where a party has engaged in conduct that has unnecessarily protracted the proceedings or caused the other party to incur costs.

Riley J found that the husband's conduct had been unreasonable and had caused the wife to incur significant additional costs. Specifically, the husband had failed to comply with court orders, had engaged in vexatious litigation, and had not made reasonable settlement offers. These actions were deemed to be contrary to the overarching purpose of the *Family Law Act 1975* (Cth) to enable just and equitable outcomes and to facilitate the resolution of disputes efficiently. The court applied the principles of indemnity costs, which are awarded to compensate a party for the full amount of their legal costs, where the conduct of the other party warrants such an order.

The court ordered that the husband pay the wife's legal costs of the proceedings on an indemnity basis.