Britt and Britt

In the matter of *Britt and Britt*, heard by Cleary J, the dispute concerned costs orders following earlier proceedings. The husband was ordered to pay the wife's costs of the trial concluded on 31 May 2019, calculated from 17 May 2019, and the costs of an interim hearing conducted on 17 April 2020. Both parties were to bear their own costs of the proceedings relating to an Application in a Case filed on 6 February 2020 and a Response to an Application in a Case filed on 14 April 2020, as these applications were dismissed.

The court was required to determine the appropriate costs orders to be made in relation to the concluded trial, the interim hearing, and two subsequent applications. The specific issue was the allocation of responsibility for the legal expenses incurred by the parties in these distinct stages of the litigation.

Cleary J ordered that the husband pay the wife's costs for the trial and the interim hearing on a party/party basis, with the sums to be agreed or assessed. The court dismissed both the husband's Application in a Case filed on 6 February 2020 and the wife's Response to an Application in a Case filed on 14 April 2020, indicating that neither party was successful in these particular applications, and therefore, each party was to bear their own costs for those applications.