Ban v The Public Trustee of Queensland Summary

SUPREME COURT OF QUEENSLAND

CITATION:

Ban v The Public Trustee of Queensland [2015] QCA 68

PARTIES:

In Appeal No 4528 of 2014
HAJNAL DALIA BAN
(appellant)
v
THE PUBLIC TRUSTEE OF QUEENSLAND
(respondent)

FILE NO/S:

Appeal No 4528 of 2014
SC No 3401 of 2014

DIVISION:

Court of Appeal

PROCEEDING:

General Civil Appeal – Further Order

ORIGINATING COURT:

Supreme Court at Brisbane

DELIVERED ON:

24 April 2015

DELIVERED AT:

Brisbane

HEARING DATE:

Heard on the papers

JUDGES:

Holmes, Gotterson and Morrison JJA
Separate reasons for judgment of each member of the Court, each concurring as to the order made

ORDER:

The appellant pay the respondent’s costs, of and incidental to the appeal, to be assessed on the standard basis.

CATCHWORDS:

APPEAL AND NEW TRIAL – APPEAL PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE – QUEENSLAND – POWERS OF COURT – COSTS – where the appellant was unsuccessful on appeal – where the judgment of the court invited further submissions from the parties in relation to costs – where the respondent provided further submissions – where no further submissions were received from the appellant – whether costs should follow the event

COUNSEL:

No appearance by the appellant
No appearance by the respondent, the respondent’s submissions were heard on the papers

SOLICITORS:

No appearance by the appellant
Official Solicitor to the Public Trustee of Queensland for the respondent

HOLMES JA: I agree with the reasons of Morrison JA and the order he proposes.

GOTTERSON JA: I agree with the order proposed by Morrison JA and with the reasons given by his Honour.

MORRISON JA: On 24 February 2015 the Court delivered its reasons for dismissing the appeal in this matter. Submissions on the question of costs were invited. In the result only the Public Trustee has made submissions.

Ms Ban was unsuccessful in her appeal. In those circumstances the Public Trustee submits that costs should follow the event.

There is no reason why that course should not be followed. I would therefore order that the appellant pay the respondent’s costs, of and incidental to the appeal, to be assessed on the standard basis.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The appeal before the court involved Ban, the appellant, and The Public Trustee of Queensland, the respondent. The primary dispute arose from an unsuccessful appeal by the appellant against a decision made by the lower court. The matter was heard in the Queensland Court of Appeal. The appellant sought to overturn the lower court's decision, which had ruled in favour of the respondent, The Public Trustee of Queensland.

The central legal issues that the court was required to decide related to the costs incurred during the appeal process. Specifically, the court had to determine whether the appellant, who was unsuccessful on appeal, should bear the costs of the appeal. The court had previously invited further submissions from the parties concerning the costs, and while the respondent submitted further arguments, the appellant did not provide any additional submissions.

The court reasoned that, in the absence of further submissions from the appellant, the matter of costs should follow the natural consequence of the event. Given that the appellant was unsuccessful in the appeal, the court found it appropriate to order that the appellant pay the respondent’s costs of and incidental to the appeal. These costs were to be assessed on the standard basis. The court's decision was guided by the principle that the unsuccessful party should bear the costs of the appeal, unless there are exceptional circumstances that warrant otherwise.

In its judgment, the court ordered that the appellant pay the respondent’s costs, of and incidental to the appeal, to be assessed on the standard basis. This order was based on the appellant's failure to make further submissions regarding the costs after being invited to do so by the court. The respondent, having provided additional submissions, was thus entitled to recover the costs incurred in defending the appeal.

Ban v The Public Trustee of Queensland

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established

CITATION:	Ban v The Public Trustee of Queensland [2015] QCA 68
PARTIES:	In Appeal No 4528 of 2014 HAJNAL DALIA BAN (appellant) v THE PUBLIC TRUSTEE OF QUEENSLAND (respondent)
FILE NO/S:	Appeal No 4528 of 2014 SC No 3401 of 2014
DIVISION:	Court of Appeal
PROCEEDING:	General Civil Appeal – Further Order
ORIGINATING COURT:	Supreme Court at Brisbane
DELIVERED ON:	24 April 2015
DELIVERED AT:	Brisbane
HEARING DATE:	Heard on the papers
JUDGES:	Holmes, Gotterson and Morrison JJA Separate reasons for judgment of each member of the Court, each concurring as to the order made
ORDER:	The appellant pay the respondent’s costs, of and incidental to the appeal, to be assessed on the standard basis.
CATCHWORDS:	APPEAL AND NEW TRIAL – APPEAL PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE – QUEENSLAND – POWERS OF COURT – COSTS – where the appellant was unsuccessful on appeal – where the judgment of the court invited further submissions from the parties in relation to costs – where the respondent provided further submissions – where no further submissions were received from the appellant – whether costs should follow the event
COUNSEL:	No appearance by the appellant No appearance by the respondent, the respondent’s submissions were heard on the papers
SOLICITORS:	No appearance by the appellant Official Solicitor to the Public Trustee of Queensland for the respondent