De Martin & Gasparini Pty Ltd v Bartlett (No 2)

In *De Martin & Gasparini Pty Ltd v Bartlett (No 2)*, the appeal concerned the appropriate costs order to be made where the appellant achieved only partial success. The parties involved were De Martin & Gasparini Pty Ltd (the appellant) and Bartlett (the first respondent), with a second respondent also involved in cross-claims. The dispute revolved around the allocation of costs following an appeal where the appellant had not been entirely successful.

The central legal issue before the court was how to reflect the appellant's partial success in the costs order. It was common ground between the parties that the usual rule regarding costs, which typically favours the successful party, was displaced in this instance. The court was therefore required to determine a just and equitable costs order that acknowledged the mixed outcome of the appeal.

The court's reasoning focused on achieving a fair distribution of costs given the partial success. The orders made indicate a complex resolution of the financial liabilities between the parties and their respective cross-claims. Ultimately, the court determined that no order as to the parties' costs of the appeal should be made, signifying that each party was to bear their own costs for the appeal proceedings. This approach was intended to reflect the nuanced outcome of the appeal, where neither party could be considered wholly successful.