C&v Engineering Pty Ltd v Hamilton and Marino Builders Pty Ltd

C&V Engineering Pty Ltd filed a claim against Hamilton and Marino Builders Pty Ltd in the Supreme Court of Victoria, seeking damages for breach of contract and other related claims. The defendants had made several offers of compromise, which the plaintiffs had rejected. The matter proceeded to a trial, and the defendants were ultimately successful in their defence. The defendants applied for costs on an indemnity basis, arguing that the plaintiffs’ rejection of their offers of compromise warranted such an order.

The court was required to determine whether the plaintiffs’ rejection of the defendants' offers of compromise justified an order for costs on an indemnity basis. The court considered the relevant case law and the principles governing indemnity costs orders. The court also examined the nature and timing of the offers of compromise and the plaintiffs' conduct throughout the proceedings.

The court found that the defendants' offers of compromise were genuine and that the plaintiffs' rejection of those offers was unreasonable. The court held that the plaintiffs' conduct throughout the proceedings was vexatious and oppressive, warranting an order for indemnity costs. The court varied the previous costs order to reflect the new costs arrangement, ordering the plaintiffs to pay the defendants' costs of the proceedings on the normal basis up to and including 30 October 2018, and thereafter on an indemnity basis. The court also ordered that the exhibits be returned.