Blanche & N Lawyers

In the matter of *Blanche & N Lawyers*, the applicant sought a stay of the taxation of costs pending the resolution of a separate claim for negligence brought in the State Supreme Court against the respondent practitioners concerning their conduct in prior Family Court litigation. The application was heard by Barry J.

The central legal issue before the court was whether the taxation of costs in the Family Court proceedings should be postponed until the outcome of the applicant's negligence claim against the respondent lawyers was determined by the Supreme Court.

Barry J dismissed the application, reasoning that the applicant had not demonstrated sufficient grounds to warrant a stay of the costs assessment. The court did not consider the existence of a separate negligence claim to be a sufficient reason to delay the ordinary process of taxing costs incurred in the Family Court proceedings. The court's decision implies a general principle that costs assessments should proceed unless exceptional circumstances justify a stay, and that a separate civil claim for professional negligence does not, in itself, constitute such exceptional circumstances.

Consequently, the applicant's application was dismissed, and the proceedings were removed from the Active Pending Cases List. The applicant was ordered to pay the respondent's costs of and incidental to the application, with payment deferred until the finalisation of the costs issue in the Family Court and the conclusion of the Supreme Court proceedings.