Deepcliffe Pty Ltd & Anor v The Council of the City of Gold Coast & Anor

The case of Deepcliffe Pty Ltd & Anor v The Council of the City of Gold Coast & Anor involved an appeal regarding costs, specifically seeking an order for costs on an indemnity basis. The appellants, Deepcliffe Pty Ltd and an associated party, had originally brought proceedings against the respondents, the City of Gold Coast and another party, and subsequently appealed against a decision of the primary judge. The central issue before the court was whether it should depart from the general rule that costs are assessed on a standard basis and order costs on an indemnity basis, considering the respondents' prior offer to settle.

The legal issue revolved around the Court of Appeal's discretion to order costs on an indemnity basis. Typically, unless there is some unusual feature of the case, costs are assessed on a standard basis. The court needed to determine whether the circumstances of this case warranted a departure from this general rule. The respondents argued that the appellants had not acted reasonably in not accepting their offer to settle, justifying an order for indemnity costs. The appellants contended that there was no distinguishing feature in this case that would warrant such an order.

In delivering its judgment, the court held that while the Court of Appeal has the discretion to make the order it considers appropriate, there was no unusual feature in this case that distinguished it from the norm. The court found that the appellants had not acted unreasonably by not accepting the respondents' offer to settle. Consequently, the court concluded that the usual order of costs being assessed on a standard basis applied, and the appellants were to pay the respondents’ costs of the appeal, to be assessed. The court did not find any exceptional circumstances to justify an order for costs on an indemnity basis.