Cornes v The Ten Group Pty Ltd (No 2)

Cornes and The Ten Group Pty Ltd (No 2) concerned a defamation proceeding heard in the Supreme Court of South Australia. The dispute arose from allegations of defamation made by Mr Cornes against The Ten Group.

The central legal issue before the Full Court was whether the primary judge had erred in their assessment of costs, specifically in relation to the application of the indemnity principle and the principles governing the award of costs in defamation proceedings. The court was required to consider whether the costs awarded were proportionate to the issues in dispute and the conduct of the parties.

The Full Court found that the primary judge had made errors in their cost orders. It was held that the indemnity principle, which generally dictates that a successful party should recover their costs, had not been correctly applied. The court reasoned that the primary judge had failed to adequately consider the overall conduct of the parties and the proportionality of the costs awarded in light of the limited success achieved by Mr Cornes. The principles of indemnity costs and ordinary costs were discussed, with the court emphasizing that indemnity costs are an exception and require specific justification.

Consequently, the Full Court set aside the cost orders made by the primary judge and remitted the matter back to the primary judge for redetermination of the costs.