Break Fast Investments Pty Ltd v Perikles Giannopoulos (also known as Perry Giannopoulos) (No 7)

The case involved Break Fast Investments Pty Ltd as the plaintiff and Perikles Giannopoulos, also known as Perry Giannopoulos, as the defendant. The dispute centred around the apportionment of costs in accordance with the Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005 (NSW) rule 42.1, which governs whether costs orders should deviate from the principle that costs follow the event. The matter was heard in the Supreme Court of New South Wales.

The central legal issue before the court was whether the general principle that costs should follow the event should be departed from, and if so, under what circumstances. This required the court to consider the principles of fairness and the conduct of the parties in making its determination. The court needed to balance the general rule with the possibility of awarding costs in a different manner to achieve justice in the specific circumstances of the case.

The court found that while the general rule that costs follow the event is a fundamental principle of civil procedure, there are exceptional circumstances where this rule may be departed from. In this case, the court considered the conduct of the parties and the overall fairness of the outcome. The court concluded that a departure from the general rule was warranted due to the defendant's conduct, which was found to be vexatious and oppressive. The court found that the defendant's actions significantly contributed to the costs incurred by the plaintiff and therefore warranted a departure from the usual costs order.

The court ordered that the costs of the proceeding be apportioned such that the plaintiff was to recover 80% of the costs from the defendant, with the remaining 20% to be borne by the plaintiff. This decision recognised the need to balance the general rule of costs following the event with the need to address the defendant's conduct in a manner that achieves a just outcome.