Gott v Toogood

Gott v Toogood involved the applicant, Mr Gott, seeking leave to appeal against a decision made by Applegarth J. The applicant had previously been granted leave to appeal on the condition that he would pay the costs of the respondents should the appeal be dismissed. The respondents, Mr and Mrs Toogood, opposed the application for leave to appeal and sought an order for costs. The case was heard in the Supreme Court of New South Wales.

The central legal issue before the court was whether the applicant had established a reasonable prospect of success on appeal. The court had to consider the merits of the appeal as well as the costs implications under the conditional leave granted by Applegarth J. The court was also required to determine whether the respondents were entitled to an order for costs given the outcome of the application for leave to appeal.

The court found that the applicant had not demonstrated a reasonable prospect of success on appeal. As a result, the application for leave to appeal was dismissed. The court held that the applicant should pay the costs of the respondents. However, the court struck out the application for leave to appeal without prejudice to the right of Mr and Mrs Toogood to file a new application for leave to appeal, should they be granted leave within the terms of the order made by Applegarth J on 29 November 2018. The court ordered the respondents to pay the applicant’s costs on the indemnity basis.