Berhero Pty Ltd v Hinds (No 2)

In the case of Berhero Pty Ltd v Hinds (No 2), the plaintiff, Berhero, sought legal fees from the defendant, Hinds. In response, Hinds filed a cross claim for damages against Berhero. Before the trial, Berhero and Hinds reached an agreement whereby Berhero would refund the legal fees if its claim failed and Hinds' cross claim would be dismissed with costs. Berhero's claim was subsequently dismissed and the cross claim was dismissed with costs. The issue before the court was whether Berhero was entitled to more than the $250,000 Calderbank offer that was based on the dismissed cross claim.

The court held that to determine if the Calderbank offer was exceeded, it was necessary to compare the substance of the offer with the result achieved. The offer was based on the dismissal of the cross claim with costs, which meant that the cross claim was effectively dismissed. Since the result achieved was consistent with the offer, Berhero was not entitled to more than the $250,000 offer. The court further noted that there was no basis for a special costs order in this matter.

In summary, the court held that the plaintiff was not entitled to more than the Calderbank offer, as the offer and the result were consistent. The court dismissed the plaintiff's claim for additional costs, and the defendant was not required to pay more than the $250,000 offer. The final orders of the court were that the plaintiff would refund the legal fees with interest and the defendant's cross claim would be dismissed with costs.