Capar v SPG Investments Pty Ltd t/as Lidcombe Power Centre (No 2)

The appeal concerned the costs orders made by the primary judge in proceedings between the appellant, Capar, and the respondents, SPG Investments Pty Ltd trading as Lidcombe Power Centre (first and second respondents), and a third respondent. The dispute arose from orders made by the primary judge, which the appellant sought to have set aside.

The central legal issue before the Court of Appeal was whether the primary judge erred in making certain costs orders, specifically in relation to the first and second respondents' liability for the appellant's costs in both the Court of Appeal and the court below, and the absence of costs orders between the appellant and the third respondent. The court also considered the costs of cross-claims made in the court below.

The Court of Appeal determined that the primary judge's costs orders were appropriate. The court found that the first and second respondents should bear the appellant's costs of the proceedings in both courts, reflecting the outcome of the substantive dispute. However, no order was made as to costs between the appellant and the third respondent, nor in respect of the cross-claims, indicating a specific resolution for those aspects of the litigation.