Frigger v Trenfield (No 11)

In Frigger v Trenfield (No 11), the applicants, former bankrupts, sought to challenge the costs of their unsuccessful application against the trustee in bankruptcy. The dispute arose from an earlier proceeding where the applicants sought declarations and orders regarding their bankrupt estates and their self-managed superannuation fund, the Frigger Super Fund (FSF). The application was dismissed in its entirety, and the trustee in bankruptcy now seeks orders for costs. The applicants opposed the orders sought and requested a deferral pending another proceeding concerning the validity of their bankruptcies. The central legal issues were the appropriate basis for assessing the applicants' liability for costs and whether the trustee in bankruptcy could recover costs from the bankrupt estates.

The court held that the applicants must pay the trustee in bankruptcy's costs on a party-party basis, with specific timelines and conditions for the assessment of costs. The court distinguished between the trustee's right of indemnity from the bankrupt estates and the costs between the parties, noting that the trustee could initially recover costs from the estates but could later seek to recover those costs from the applicants. The court ruled that the costs should be paid by the applicants on a party-party basis, with specific provisions for the assessment of costs and the recovery of costs from the bankrupt estates. The court also set out detailed timelines for the submission of costs summaries, responses, and written submissions on the quantum of costs.

The final orders required the applicants to pay the trustee's costs on a party-party basis, with certain costs discounted. The court also provided for the assessment of costs on a lump sum basis and set out specific timelines for the submission of costs summaries, responses, and written submissions. The court clarified that the trustee could recover costs from the bankrupt estates initially but could later seek to recover those costs from the applicants.