Dwa Insurance Pty Ltd v Community Broker Network Pty Ltd (No 3)

The case involved Dwa Insurance Pty Ltd as the plaintiff and Community Broker Network Pty Ltd as the defendant. The dispute arose from an application for ex parte interlocutory orders made by the plaintiff in the Duty List. The plaintiff's application was for an injunction and related relief, which was ultimately denied. The plaintiff's failure to make full and frank disclosure in its application led to the court being required to consider the appropriate costs orders.

The legal issues before the court included the basis for quantifying the costs that the plaintiff should pay to the defendant, the timing of when these costs should be paid, and the extent of the court's discretion in ordering the plaintiff to pay the difference between its legal costs and the amount recovered under the costs order. The court found that because the plaintiff had not fully disclosed information during the interlocutory application, it was appropriate to order costs on the indemnity basis. However, due to the lack of a rational basis for apportioning the defendant's costs between different applications, the court was unable to make a gross sum costs order. Additionally, the court held that there was no obligation for the plaintiff to pay the costs forthwith as the issues in the interlocutory application were not discrete from those to be determined at the final hearing.

In its decision, the court ordered that the plaintiff pay the defendant's costs of and incidental to the interlocutory application on the indemnity basis. The court also ruled that the plaintiff was not required to pay the difference between its own legal costs and the amount it would recover under the costs order. The final orders did not impose an obligation on the plaintiff to pay the defendant's costs forthwith, as the court determined that the plaintiff's delinquent behaviour had already been addressed through the indemnity costs order.