Guest v Karl Romandi & Helen De Luis Pty Ltd (No. 2)

The parties to this proceeding were Guest (the applicant) and Karl Romandi & Helen De Luis Pty Ltd (the respondents). The dispute concerned applications to vary previous costs orders made by the court on 13 April 2012. The matter was heard by Young and Meagher JJA in the Court of Appeal of New South Wales.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether the existing costs orders should be varied. This involved considering the principles governing the variation of costs orders, particularly in circumstances where offers of compromise, including Calderbank offers, had been made, and where no question of principle was involved.

The court dismissed the applications to vary the costs orders. The reasoning applied was that the original costs orders were appropriate and no grounds were established for their variation. The court noted that there was no question of principle involved in the applications. Consequently, the court made no order as to the costs of the applications dealt with in this judgment.