Edwards Madigan Torzillo Briggs Pty Ltd v Stack

Edwards Madigan Torzillo Briggs Pty Ltd (the plaintiff) appealed a decision of the primary judge regarding costs in proceedings where judgment had been entered in favour of the defendant, Stack. The dispute concerned the plaintiff's entitlement to costs after the proceedings were resolved without a determination of liability in respect of several defendants.

The central legal issues before the Court of Appeal were whether the primary judge was bound to award costs in favour of the defendant where judgment had been entered in their favour, and whether the judge was entitled to assess the reasonableness of the parties' actions in the context of awarding costs. The court also considered the reasonableness of a *Calderbank* offer made by the defendant at an early stage of proceedings, which allowed only 14 days for response.

The Court of Appeal held that a judge is not automatically bound to award costs in favour of a defendant simply because judgment is entered in their favour, particularly where liability has not been determined. The court affirmed that judges are entitled to consider the conduct of the parties and the reasonableness of their actions when exercising their discretion regarding costs. The court found that the primary judge had correctly applied these principles and that the *Calderbank* offer, made early in the proceedings with a limited response period, was not necessarily unreasonable in the circumstances.

Leave to appeal was refused, and the plaintiff was ordered to pay the costs of the appeal.