Care A2 Plus Pty Ltd v Pichardo (No 2)

In *Care A2 Plus Pty Ltd v Pichardo (No 2)*, the New South Wales Court of Appeal considered an application to vary orders previously made on 22 February 2024. The dispute concerned the precise formulation of a composite sum payable by the first respondent to the appellants, which had been based on an assumption that each appellant was liable for particular sums and that interest was calculable from different dates.

The Court was required to determine whether to exercise its power under rule 36.17 of the *Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005* (NSW) to correct the previous orders. This rule allows for the correction of a clerical mistake or an error arising from an accidental slip or omission in a judgment or order. The application sought to reformulate the orders to accurately reflect the intended division of liability and the commencement dates for interest calculations.

The Court reasoned that the previous orders contained an accidental slip or omission in their drafting, leading to an incorrect composite sum and interest calculation. Applying the principles of the slip rule, the Court determined that it was appropriate to vary the orders to rectify this error. The Court ordered that the original order 3 be replaced with new orders, specifying the individual sums payable to each appellant and detailing the calculation of interest for each amount from the respective commencement dates until the date of the original order. The first respondent was also ordered to pay the appellants’ costs of the application.