Funds First Pty Ltd v Owners Corporation Strata Plan 66609 (No 2)

In this case, Funds First Pty Ltd, acting as trustee for a unit trust, sought to recover costs from the Owners Corporation Strata Plan 66609. The plaintiff alleged that the defendants were liable for damages related to strata title issues, and the matter was before the court to determine the appropriate security for costs. The court was tasked with assessing whether the plaintiff, being a corporate trustee, was impecunious and whether there was a real probability that the costs order might be made against the corporate plaintiff alone.

The primary legal issue was whether the plaintiff was impecunious and if security for costs should be ordered. The court considered the nature of the plaintiff as a corporate trustee and the absence of evidence that the plaintiff would have recourse to trust assets. Additionally, the court evaluated whether the joinder of the corporate plaintiff significantly expanded the case and if there was another plaintiff against whom security would not be ordered.

The court found that there was no real practical probability that the costs order might be made against the corporate plaintiff alone, given the presence of another plaintiff. Furthermore, the joinder of the corporate plaintiff did not significantly expand the case. Consequently, the court decided not to order security for costs from the corporate plaintiff. The court reasoned that the absence of evidence regarding recourse to trust assets and the presence of another plaintiff against whom security would not be ordered were key factors in reaching this decision.

No specific orders regarding costs were made in the decision. The court's ruling primarily addressed the appropriateness of ordering security for costs from the corporate plaintiff under the given circumstances.