Bortoli & Bortoli

In *Bortoli & Bortoli*, the applicant husband sought to determine his liability for costs previously ordered against the respondent wife. The wife had been ordered to pay the costs of the second and third respondents on a party-party basis, and her application for property orders had been unsuccessful. The court was asked to determine the extent of the husband's liability for these costs, considering the wife's unsuccessful application and delays in the proceedings attributed to her conduct.

The central legal issue before the court was the quantum of the husband's liability for the costs order made against the wife. This involved assessing whether and to what extent the husband should contribute to the costs the wife was obligated to pay to the second and third respondents, particularly in light of the wife's overall lack of success in her property proceedings and the court's finding of delay caused by her actions.

Hartnett J determined that the husband was liable to pay the respondent wife the sum of $20,000. This amount represented the extent of the husband's liability towards the costs order previously made against the wife, pursuant to specific orders made on 21 February 2020 and 28 August 2020. The court granted liberty to the wife to seek an urgent listing for any enforcement proceedings necessary to give effect to this order, and all other outstanding applications were dismissed.