Hardwick v Jankowski (No.2)

In the Federal Court of Australia, Hardwick v Jankowski (No. 2) involved a dispute concerning the application of indemnity costs following the plaintiff's service of an offer of compromise. The plaintiff, Hardwick, had served an offer of compromise to the defendant, Jankowski, under the Uniform Civil Procedure Rules. Hardwick subsequently obtained a more favourable outcome in the proceedings than the sum offered. The court was required to determine whether the plaintiff's application for indemnity costs should be granted, considering the requirement of 'exceptional circumstances' as outlined in the relevant legal principles.

The court identified the primary legal issue as whether the exceptional circumstances existed to justify the award of indemnity costs to Jankowski. The court examined the circumstances under which the offer of compromise was made and the outcome of the proceedings. It considered the principles established in previous cases, which set out that indemnity costs are not awarded as a matter of course but rather in exceptional circumstances. The court also assessed whether the plaintiff's conduct in making the offer of compromise was unreasonable or whether it had a reasonable basis.

The court concluded that the exceptional circumstances necessary to warrant an award of indemnity costs were not present in this case. It found that while the plaintiff's offer of compromise was not accepted and the plaintiff ultimately obtained a more favourable outcome, this alone did not constitute exceptional circumstances. The court considered the overall conduct of the plaintiff in making the offer and found no unreasonableness or lack of basis that would warrant such an award. Consequently, the application for indemnity costs was dismissed.

The final orders of the court were that the application for indemnity costs brought by Jankowski was dismissed, and no orders for costs were made in favour of the plaintiff.