El-Bayeh v El-Bayeh (No 2)

The case of El-Bayeh v El-Bayeh (No 2) involved a dispute between the parties, the plaintiff and the defendant, over the costs incurred in a family law matter. The plaintiff sought a declaration regarding the ownership of certain property and sought an order for costs, including indemnity costs, against the defendant. The matter was heard in the Family Court of Australia.

The court had to decide whether indemnity costs should be awarded to the plaintiff from the date of one of the defendant's offers of compromise, referred to as a Calderbank offer, given that the plaintiff's judgment was more favourable than those offers. Additionally, the court had to determine if it was unreasonable for the defendant to reject the offers of compromise.

The court found that the defendant's rejection of the offers of compromise was not unreasonable, as the offers did not address all of the plaintiff's claims and did not provide for a specific outcome on the property in question. The court also found that the plaintiff's judgment was not significantly more favourable than the offers, as the offers included a significant payment towards the plaintiff's costs. Therefore, the court concluded that indemnity costs should not be awarded to the plaintiff from the date of the Calderbank offer. The plaintiff's application for costs was ultimately dismissed.