CGU Insurance Limited v AAI Limited; CGU Insurance Limited v AAI Limited (No 2)

CGU Insurance Limited (the appellant) appealed to the New South Wales Court of Appeal against decisions made in proceedings concerning dust-related diseases. The dispute involved a cross-claim between CGU Insurance Limited and AAI Limited (the respondents), heard initially in the Dust Diseases Tribunal.

The primary legal issues before the Court of Appeal concerned the appropriateness of making a "Bullock" order in relation to the costs of the proceedings in the Dust Diseases Tribunal and the costs of the appeal itself. Specifically, the court had to determine whether it was reasonable for the cross-claimant to have joined both defendants in the cross-claim in the original proceedings.

The Court of Appeal considered the conduct of the parties in the Dust Diseases Tribunal when assessing the reasonableness of joining both defendants. The court ultimately made orders regarding the costs of the appeal and remitted the matter to the Dust Diseases Tribunal to consider an application for a "Bullock" order concerning costs that the cross-claimant had been ordered to pay to the second cross-defendant. These orders stipulated how the costs of the appeal and certain motions were to be treated in relation to any application made on remitter.