Colak v Ghalloub (No. 2)

Colak v Ghalloub (No. 2) involved the plaintiff, Mr Colak, suing the defendant, Mr Ghalloub, for personal injury damages arising from a car accident. The dispute centred on the liability for the accident and the extent of damages. The case was heard in the Supreme Court of New South Wales.

The legal issues before the court included whether Mr Colak was entitled to indemnity costs given that he had failed on liability but made alternative findings for damages of a nominal nature, and whether there were circumstances that justified such an order under the Uniform Civil Procedure Rules. The court also had to determine if an order for indemnity costs should be made if Mr Colak had succeeded on liability but not on quantum.

In ruling on these issues, the court found that despite the plaintiff's failure on liability, he had made alternative findings for damages of a nominal nature. The court acknowledged that six offers to settle had been made in the year before the hearing, which supported an order for indemnity costs. However, the court also noted that if Mr Colak had succeeded on liability but not on quantum, no order for costs in his favour should be made by reason of UCPR Part 42 rule 35. Consequently, the court ordered that Mr Colak was to pay the defendant's costs on the ordinary basis up until 25 January 2017, and thereafter on an indemnity basis.

The court's decision highlighted the importance of alternative findings in personal injury cases and the stringent requirements for indemnity costs. The court balanced these considerations in making its orders, ensuring that the rules were applied fairly in light of the procedural history of the case.