Ezekiel-Hart v Law Society of the Australian Capital Territory

The case of Ezekiel-Hart v Law Society of the Australian Capital Territory involved a dispute between the applicant and the Law Society of the Australian Capital Territory. The applicant sought an order for the Law Society to pay her costs of and incidental to the proceedings. The matter was heard in the Federal Magistrates Court. The court had to decide whether the words "this application" should be replaced with "the proceedings" in the order.

The court considered whether the words "this application" or "the proceedings" were more appropriate in the context of the order. It was noted that the original orders recorded on the bench sheet contained an error in this regard. The court examined the context in which the order was made and the intentions of the parties. It was determined that the correct wording should reflect the broader scope of the costs being awarded, which encompassed the entire proceedings and not just the application. Therefore, the words "this application" were replaced with "the proceedings" in the order.

The court found that the appropriate wording in the order was "costs of and incidental to the proceedings". This decision was made to ensure that the order accurately reflected the scope of the costs that the applicant was entitled to recover from the Law Society. The court ordered that the Registrar draw up orders and enter the orders of the Court on 31 August 2009 in the form filed on 2 June 2011, with the necessary amendments made to the wording of the costs order.