Civil & Civic Corporation Pty Ltd v Nova Builders Pty Ltd

In *Civil & Civic Corporation Pty Ltd v Nova Builders Pty Ltd*, the appellant, Civil & Civic Corporation Pty Ltd, sought to appeal a decision, and the respondents, Nova Builders Pty Ltd (first respondent) and another party (second respondent), applied for security for their costs of the appeal. The matter came before McCallum CJ.

The primary legal issue before the Court was to determine the appropriate amount of security for costs that the appellant should be ordered to provide to protect the respondents, who might succeed in the litigation. This involved considering what level of security was reasonable in the circumstances to safeguard the respondents' potential entitlement to costs.

McCallum CJ reasoned that the purpose of security for costs is to ensure that a successful party can recover their legal expenses. The Court considered the potential costs likely to be incurred by the respondents in defending the appeal and determined that an order for security was warranted. The Court applied the principle that security should be sufficient to provide reasonable protection to a party who may ultimately succeed.

The Court ordered the appellant to provide $50,000 in security for the first respondent's costs and $50,000 for the second respondent's costs, totalling $100,000. This security was to be paid in tranches, with $30,000 due by 31 March 2024 and the remaining $70,000 by 31 May 2024. The respondents were granted liberty to apply for further security if they contended the initial amount was inadequate from 1 June 2024. Failure by the appellant to comply with these payment orders would result in the dismissal of the appeal proceedings. The appellant was granted liberty to apply for an extension of time for payment. The costs of the applications were reserved as each party's costs in the appeal.