Gingham and Gingham (No 2)

In *Gingham and Gingham (No 2)* [2013] FamCA 883, Hogan J of the Family Court of Australia considered an application by the Respondent father for an order that the Applicant mother pay his costs on a solicitor and client basis. The dispute concerned costs arising from an Application in a Case filed on 27 September 2012.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether the circumstances warranted an order for costs to be paid on a solicitor and client basis, rather than the usual party and party basis. This required the court to assess the conduct of the parties and the overall merits of the application in determining the appropriate scale of costs.

Hogan J ultimately ordered that the Applicant, Ms Gingham, pay the Respondent's costs of and incidental to the Application in a Case. These costs were fixed at $5,725.72 and were to be paid by 4.00 pm on 31 December 2013. The decision to fix the costs indicates that the court determined the amount payable, and the specific mention of solicitor and client basis in the catchwords suggests this was the scale sought and potentially considered, though the judgment text provided does not elaborate on the specific reasoning for that scale.