Boreland v Docker (No 2)

The dispute in *Boreland v Docker (No 2)* concerned the interpretation of a costs provision in a lease agreement and the appropriate allocation of costs following an appeal. The appeal was heard in the Court of Appeal of New South Wales by Mason P, Beazley JA, and Ipp JA.

The primary legal issues before the Court of Appeal were whether the orders made at first instance resulted in a judgment being recorded against the lessor, thereby triggering a specific costs provision in the lease, and what the appropriate costs orders should be for both the appeal and the trial, given that the appellant was partially successful on appeal. The court also considered the significance of the evidence and submissions presented at trial concerning the points on which the appellant succeeded on appeal.

The Court of Appeal determined that the orders made at first instance did not constitute a judgment recorded against the lessor for the purposes of the lease's costs provision. The court corrected the original orders to clarify that the respondents' cross-claim was otherwise dismissed. Regarding costs, the court ordered that the respondents pay 80 per cent of the appellant's costs at first instance, reflecting the partial success of the appellant on appeal. For the appeal itself, the court ordered that both the appellant and the respondents bear their own costs, acknowledging the mixed outcome of the appeal.