Housman v Camuglia

[2021] NSWCA 106

Court of Appeal

Supreme Court

New South Wales

• Amendment notes

Medium Neutral Citation:

Housman v Camuglia [2021] NSWCA 106

Hearing dates:

28 April 2021

Decision date:

26 May 2021

Before:

Bell P at [1];
Leeming JA at [2];
White JA at [95].

Decision:

Appeal dismissed with costs.

Catchwords:

CONTRACT - damages - claim for consequential loss - construction works caused damage to neighbour’s land - claim for lost rent - trial judge found apartments unlettable in light of damage to stairway - finding based on evidence of landlord and letting agent - no reference in reasons to unchallenged engineering evidence that stairway safe - whether reasons of trial judge inadequate - inutility of inadequate reasons as a ground where appeal is by way of rehearing - whether trial judge misused evidence admitted on limited basis - no error made out

APPEALS - requirement of leave - whether appellants required leave for separate challenge to costs order based on rejection of Calderbank offer in circumstances where there was an appeal as of right - construction of “an appeal from a judgment or order as to costs only” in District Court Act 1973 (NSW), s 127(2)(b) - history of s 127(2)(b) and s 101(2)(c) of Supreme Court Act 1970 (NSW) - history of United Kingdom antecedents - appellants entitled to challenge special costs order as of right

COSTS - Calderbank letter - whether error in finding that appellants had unreasonably rejected offer - significance of factual error in letter - significance of offer being rejected before service of all evidence - no error made out

Legislation Cited:

Administration of Justice Act 1840 (NSW) (4 Vic No 22), s 21

Advancement of Justice Act 1841 (NSW) (5 Vic No 9), s 13

Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876 (UK)

Civil Liability Act 2002 (NSW), ss 5D, 5E

Courts Legislation Further Amendment Act 1995 (NSW), Schedule 1 Item 1.3 [10]

District Court Act 1973 (NSW) (prior to 1995), ss 126, 127, s 128(2A)

District Court Act 1973 (NSW), s 127

District Courts Act 1858 (NSW) (22 Vic No 18), s 94

District Courts Act 1901 (NSW), s 107

District Courts Act 1912 (NSW), s 142

Equity Act 1880 (NSW), s 70

Equity Act 1901 (NSW), s 81

Judicature Act 1873 (UK), s 49

Supreme Court Act 1970 (NSW) (as enacted), s 101(3)(a)

Supreme Court Act 1970 (NSW), s 101(2)(c)

Supreme Court of Judicature (Consolidation) Act 1925 (UK), s 31

The Judicature Act 1883 (Vic) (47 Vic No 761), s 27

Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005 (NSW) rr 36.16, 51.41

Cases Cited:

AF Concrete Pumping Pty Ltd v Ryan [2014] NSWCA 346

Apache Northwest Pty Ltd v Department of Mines and Petroleum [2012] WASCA 167

Arena Management Pty Ltd (rec and mgrapptd) v Campbell Street Theatre Pty Ltd (2011) 80 NSWLR 652; [2011] NSWCA 128

Attenborough v Kemp (1861) 14 Moo PC 351; 15 ER 338

Attorney-General v Butcher (1827) 4 Russ 180; 38 ER 773

Bunge SA v Nidera BV [2015] UKSC 43; 3 All ER 1082

CG Maloney Pty Ltd v Noon [2011] NSWCA 397

Calderbank v Calderbank [1975] 3 All ER 333

Camuglia v Housman [2020] NSWDC 446

Camuglia v Housman (No2) [2020] NSWDC 518

Capilano Honey Ltd v Dowling (No2) [2018] NSWCA 217

Coffs Harbour City Council v Polglase [2020] NSWCA 265

Dasreef Pty Ltd v Hawchar [2010] NSWCA 154

Dight v Gordon (1863) 3 SCR Eq 62

Dillon v Gosford City Council [2011] NSWCA 328; 284 ALR 619

Dixon v Williams (1875) 13 SCR Eq 7

Dunn v Lowe (1876) 14 SCR 371

Dwyer v Calco Timbers Pty Ltd (2008) 234 CLR 124; [2008] HCA 13

Eberlein v Eberlein (1887) 8 LR (NSW) Eq 1

Harpham v Shacklock (1881) 19 Ch D 207

Harris v Aaron (1877) 4 Ch D 749

Inglis v Mansfield (1835) 3 Cl & Fin 362; 6 ER 1472

Jackmain(a pseudonym) v R (2020) 102 NSWLR 847; [2020] NSWCCA 150

MussumatKeemeeBaee v Latchman-das Narrain-das (1837) 1 Moo Ind App 470; 18 ER 188

Muswellbrook Shire Council v Hunter Valley Energy Pty Ltd [2019] NSWCA 216; 372 ALR 695

Owen v Griffith (1749) 1 Ves Sen 250; 27 ER 1012

Perara-Cathcart v The Queen (2017) 260 CLR 595; [2017] HCA 9

Richards v Birley (1864) 2 Moo PC (NS) 96; 15 ER 838

Road Chalets Pty Ltd v Thornton Motors Pty Ltd (1986) 47 SASR 532

Robinson v Sutton (1909) 9 SR (NSW) 295

Sahade v Bischoff [2015] NSWCA 418

Stephenson v Santos [2020] NSWCA 262

Tyco Australia Pty Ltd v Optus Networks Pty Ltd [2004] NSWCA 333

Vella v Commissioner of Police (NSW) [2019] HCA 38; 93 ALJR 1236

Victorian Stevedoring and General Contracting Co Pty Ltd v Dignan (1931) 46 CLR 73; [1931] HCA 34

Walsh v Law Society of New South Wales (1999) 198 CLR 73; [1999] HCA 33

Wheeler v Somerfield [1966] 2 QB 94

Yeo v Tatem (1871) 3 LR PC 696

Texts Cited:

W Courtney, “Contract Damages and the Promisee’s Role in its own Loss” (2019) 42(2) MULR 406

J Edelman, McGregor on Damages (21st ed, Sweet & Maxwell, 2021)

M Leeming, “The Primary Judge in Equity” (2016) 90 ALJ 783

Morgan and Wurtzburg, A Treatise on the law of Costs in the Chancery Division of the High Court of Justice (2nd ed, Stevens and Sons, London, 1882)

W Parker, The Practice in Equity (New South Wales) (Law Book Co of Australasia Ltd, 1930)

T Prince, (“Recent Cases: Coffs Harbour City Council v Polglase [2020] NSWCA 265” (2021) 95 ALJ 181

D Steele, “The Judicial House of Lords: Abolition and Restoration 1873-6” in L Blom-Cooper et al (eds), The Judicial House of Lords 1876-2009 (Oxford University Press, 2009)

The Annual Practice 1961 (Sweet & Maxwell Ltd, London, 1960), Vol 1

Category:

Principal judgment

Parties:

Bardia Housman (First Appellant)
Beatriz Pena Alda (Second Appellant)
Pacific Plus Constructions Pty Ltd (Third Appellant)
Yolenda Camuglia (Respondent)

Representation:

Counsel:
J Turnbull SC, A Ahmad (Appellants)
G Sirtes SC, G Rubagotti (Respondent)

Solicitors:
Holman Webb Lawyers (Appellants)
Leslie Pozniak, Landerer & Co (Respondent)

File Number(s):

2020/262274

Publication restriction:

Nil

 Decision under appeal 

Court or tribunal:

District Court of New South Wales

Jurisdiction:

Civil

Citation:

[2020] NSWDC 446

Date of Decision:

14 August 2020

Before:

Weber SC DCJ

File Number(s):

2019/102298

HEADNOTE

[This headnote is not to be read as part of the judgment]

The first and second appellants, Mr Housman and Ms Alda, own harbourside land at Lavender Bay. The respondent, Ms Camuglia, owns neighbouring land, on which is constructed a building containing six apartment units. Ms Housman and Ms Alda engaged the third appellant, Pacific Plus Constructions Pty Ltd to undertake substantial building and construction works, including excavation works, on their land. The works caused damage to Ms Camuglia’s land; in particular, the supporting foundations for a stairway providing access to four of the units had collapsed and the stairway showed signs of cracking and settlement. Temporary propping was installed to restore access to the stairway. An engineering report indicated that the temporary measures were adequate to ensure the safety of the stairway until a permanent solution was implemented. Notwithstanding the temporary propping, Ms Camuglia’s leasing manager, Mr D’Ettorre, advised her that the property was incapable of being advertised to let.

Ms Camuglia commenced proceedings in the District Court of New South Wales seeking damages for, inter alia, negligence. The primary judge entered judgment for Ms Camuglia in the amount of $231,316.32, comprising $74,076.18 in respect of rectification costs and $157,240.14 for consequential loss relating to lost rent. It emerged that an offer by Ms Camuglia that the proceedings be discontinued on the basis that each party bear their own costs and the defendants/appellants pay Ms Camuglia lump sums of $100,000 in respect of the proceedings and $100,000 in respect of costs was refused. The primary judge ordered costs in Ms Camuglia’s favour on an ordinary basis to 7 September 2019 and thereafter on an indemnity basis.

The principal issues on appeal were:

1. Whether the primary judge erred in finding that the damage caused by the building and construction works had caused the units to be unlettable, such that damages for consequential loss should not have been awarded;

2. Whether the primary judge failed properly to assess whether it had been unreasonable for the appellants to reject the Calderbank offer made by Ms Camuglia, such that a special costs order should not have been made in her favour. An associated issue was whether leave to appeal was required in respect of this ground.

The Court held (Leeming JA, Bell P and White JA agreeing), dismissing the appeal:

1. It was not unreasonable for Ms Camuglia to await the construction of a permanent solution to access before re-letting the premises, notwithstanding the indication in Mr Herbertson’s engineering report that the temporary solution was adequate in terms of safety: at [1]; [36]-[40]; [95].

a. A permanent solution was reasonably expected in the short term and there would be a need for a prospective tenant’s furniture and other possessions to be delivered to the premises: at [1]; [36]; [95].

b. The opinion of Ms Camuglia’s leasing agent that the property was incapable of being advertised to let was inherently plausible, as the obstacles to access, if disclosed in advertising material, might have made the apartments unappealing to prospective tenants, and if not disclosed, might have caused irritation upon inspection: at [1]; [37]; [95].

c. Ms Camuglia’s and Mr D’Ettorre’s evidence, which had been subject to rulings restricting use, had not been misused, as it was those witnesses’ perceptions of the position as to the stairway that were critical, not whether, from an engineering perspective, the stairway had in fact been unsafe: [1]; [39]; [95].

Inutility of adequacy of reasons as a ground of appeal where an appeal proceeds by way of rehearing discussed: at [33]-[35].

Capilano Honey Ltd v Dowling (No 2) [2018] NSWCA 217; Stephenson v Santos [2020] NSWCA 262 referred to.

Relationship between causation and failure to mitigate loss discussed: at [41].

Bunge SA v Nidera BV [2015] UKSC 43; 3 All ER 1082 referred to.

2. Leave to appeal against the special costs order was not required: at [1]; [84]; [95]. Where there is a substantive ground of appeal as of right, then even if that ground fails, the appellant may challenge the costs order as of right: at [1]; [83]; [95]. An appeal raising bona fide substantive grounds as well as costs is not an appeal “as to costs only” within the meaning of s 127(2) of the District Court Act1973 (NSW) or s 101(2)(c) of the Supreme Court Act 1970 (NSW), even if the substantive grounds are rejected: at [1]; [84]; [95].

History of s 127(2) of the District Court Act1973 (NSW) and s 101(2)(c) of the Supreme Court Act 1970 (NSW) and United Kingdom antecedents discussed: at [46]-[83].

Harris v Aaron (1877) 4 Ch D 749; Harpham v Shacklock (1881) 19 Ch D 207; Robinson v Sutton (1909) 9 SR (NSW) 295 referred to.

Road Chalets Pty Ltd v Thornton Motors Pty Ltd (1986) 47 SASR 532 considered.

Wheeler v Somerfield [1966] 2 QB 94; Dillon v Gosford City Council [2011] NSWCA 328; 284 ALR 619 applied.

3. No basis on which to re-exercise the discretion as to costs was made out: at [1]; [90]; [95].

a. The fact that Ms Camuglia’s costs were now shown to be some $113,696.10 rather than the $150,000 which had been represented to be Ms Camuglia’s costs at the time the offer was made did not materially detract from the substantiality of the compromise when viewed as a whole: at [1]; [90]; [95].

b. The fact that Mr D’Ettorre’s affidavits had not been served when the offer was made was not material in circumstances where the essential case advanced by Ms Camuglia was available to the defendants at the time they reviewed the offer: at [1]; [92]; [95].

Judgment

1. BELL P: I agree with Leeming JA.

2. LEEMING JA: The issues in this appeal are very narrow. They are whether the plaintiff’s claim for consequential loss should be set aside, whether there was error in a special costs order based on a Calderbank letter, and whether leave is required to advance the second point. The confined nature of the appeal warrants a highly abbreviated account of the background to a five day trial in the District Court.

3. The first and second appellants, Mr Bardia Housman and Ms Beatriz Pena Alda, own harbourside land at Lavender Bay. The respondent, Ms Yolenda Camuglia, is the owner of neighbouring land. Both lots occupy steep slopes from the roadway to the harbour foreshore. On Ms Camuglia’s land is constructed a building containing six apartments, two of which are accessible from the street, but the remaining four of which are only accessible down a staircase along the boundary between the two lots.

4. The third appellant, Pacific Plus Constructions Pty Ltd, was retained by the first and second appellants to undertake substantial building works on their land. It subcontracted the demolition and bulk excavation works which commenced in around September 2017. Those works caused damage to Ms Camuglia’s land. The primary judge found that, among other things, the supporting foundations for the stairway had collapsed and the stairway showed signs of cracking and settlement. Ms Camuglia sued her neighbours and Pacific Plus Constructions.

5. By the conclusion of the trial, a large number of issues had been resolved. As between the three appellants, all had become represented by the same firm of solicitors, a cross-claim had been disposed of and it was accepted that any judgment should be entered against them all, reflecting a joint and several liability to Ms Camuglia. Further, the defendants/appellants accepted that their acts and omissions had caused damage to the stairway. Many aspects of the quantum of damage referrable to rectifying the damage were also agreed.

6. After a five day trial, the primary judge promptly produced a judgment, reflecting the limited issues for resolution: Camuglia v Housman [2020] NSWDC 446. His Honour noted that after the concessions (some concessions had only been made on the last day of the hearing), there were only three outstanding issues.

7. One issue was whether damage had been caused to a balcony. His Honour found that the damage was not causally linked to the defendants’ breaches and dismissed that aspect of the claim. There is no cross-appeal from that part of the judgment.

8. Secondly, the primary judge noted that it was not agreed that the defendants were liable for the (agreed) costs of rectifying the damage, on the basis that the cost of rectification was not an appropriate measure of damages, and that the plaintiff had failed to mitigate her loss. The primary judge found in Ms Camuglia’s favour in relation to rectification. This was challenged by ground 2 of the appeal, but in the appellants’ written submissions in reply, that ground was abandoned.

9. That left only a contest concerning a claim for consequential loss. That issue was summarised by the primary judge as follows (at [13]):

“As I have indicated, the plaintiff was leasing the units contained within the building. She says that as a consequence of the damage to the stairway it was no longer feasible to lease the premises, and that as a consequence they have laid vacant since various dates in 2018. The plaintiff claims lost rent by way of consequential loss. Her entitlement to this head of damages is disputed.”

10. The primary judge accepted that Ms Camuglia was entitled to consequential loss, calculated in the amount of $157,240.14. That amount was based upon evidence adduced by Mr Dominic D’Ettorre. The appellants pressed a ground of appeal based on inadequate reasons (although it was not the subject of separate oral submissions), and it is convenient to reproduce in full [32] which contains the reasons for allowing this head of damage:

“The plaintiff adduced evidence from Mr Dominic D’Torre [sic], who has been the leasing manager of the property since 2015. Mr D’Torre [sic] expressed the view that following his inspection of the damage to the plaintiff’s property it was no longer feasible to relet the units on the property owing to the safety issues relating to the damage to the stairway, its stringer, and the concrete paving slabs to the east of the building.”

11. The consequential loss claim was quantified in the following way:

1. Ms Camuglia’s rental ledgers indicated that five of the six units had been rented at weekly amounts ranging between $600 and $765, while the sixth unit, unit 2, had from time to time been occupied by Ms Camuglia’s son rent-free. The weekly rental totalled $3,489.

2. However, unit 6, unlike units 1, 3, 4 and 5, was capable of being continuously occupied, notwithstanding the damage to the stairway, as it appears to have had direct access to the street. Accordingly, $600 was deducted from the weekly return.

3. From that amount, the primary judge applied a discount of 1/3, reflecting the loss of amenity of the units due to their proximity to the building works, that being a loss which Ms Camuglia accepted was not attributable to the defendants.

4. Still further, the primary judge recorded an acceptance by Mr Sirtes SC, who appeared for Ms Camuglia at first instance and in this Court, that there should be a discount to reflect the vicissitudes of life as a landlord. The primary judge determined a discount of 20%.

5. By reducing $2,889 (being $3,489 minus $600) by first 1/3, and then by 20%, the primary judge reached a consequential loss per week of $1,541.57.

6. Ms Camuglia in her written submissions at trial had sought consequential loss only from October 2018, which was when Mr D’Ettorre told her that the premises were unlettable.

7. The primary judge allowed a period from October 2018 until 1 month after judgment, ie 14 September 2020, amounting to a period of 102 weeks, and thus determined consequential loss as $157,240.14.

12. No aspect of the appeal challenged any element of the calculation of consequential loss.

13. Instead, the appellants maintained that no consequential loss should have been ordered, because the primary judge had erred in finding that the damage caused by their construction and demolition works had caused the units to be unlettable. This gave rise to the first ground of appeal.

14. By a subsequent judgment as to costs, his Honour directed that the defendants pay the plaintiff’s costs on an ordinary basis up to and including 7 September 2019 and thereafter on an indemnity basis: Camuglia v Housman (No 2) [2020] NSWDC 518. The judgment (as amended to correct an arithmetical mistake) was for $231,316.32. The special costs order arose from a letter dated 23 August 2019 stated to have been written in reliance on the principles in Calderbank v Calderbank [1975] 3 All ER 333 which proposed that the proceedings be discontinued on the basis that each party bear their own costs with the defendants paying lump sums of $100,000 in respect of the proceeding and a separate $100,000 in respect of costs. The letter referred to the evidence which, at that date, had been served, namely the evidence of Mr Herbertson, Mr Curtis, Mr Maynier and Ms Camuglia. The affidavits of Mr D’Ettorre had not at that stage been served. The letter also addressed the plaintiff’s costs as follows:

“In the event that our client is successful, we are instructed to seek costs should your clients unreasonably refuse to settle the Proceeding. Our client’s costs of and incidental to the Proceeding to date are $150,000 inclusive of Counsel fees, expert fees and GST.”

15. The primary judge regarded the extent of the compromise contained in the letter as considerable. His Honour said:

“[9] … The offer represented a 78% deduction on the plaintiff’s consequential loss claim. It also represented an offer to meet one third of her legal costs, which at the time of the Calderbank offer amounted to a sum of $150,000.

[10] More crucially, the judgment represented an award of more than $131,316 in excess of the Calderbank offer. This represented a substantial compromise, in my view.”

16. His Honour rejected submissions that the offer had not been supported by a bill of costs (on the basis that the defendants had sought no particulars of the costs) and that the 14 days for acceptance was insufficient time (on the basis that no request was made for any additional time to consider the offer). His Honour concluded that it was unreasonable for the defendants to have rejected the Calderbank offer, and accordingly made a special costs order in favour of Ms Camuglia.

16. The challenge to the costs order was ground 3 of the appeal. Ms Camuglia belatedly (cf UCPR r 51.41) maintained that leave was necessary to bring that challenge, and, against the possibility that that was correct, the appellants sought leave.

Ground 1 – challenge to the claim for consequential loss

The evidence of Mr Herbertson

18. The critical evidence on which the appellants relied in support of the first ground of appeal was a report dated 17 December 2018 by Mr Robert Herbertson, a consulting engineer retained by Ms Camuglia’s solicitors. His report was principally directed to whether subsidence or withdrawal of support or vibration from the defendants’ land had caused the damage to the site, and the appropriate rectification works to remedy the damage to Ms Camuglia’s property. However, his report also addressed the temporary measures which had been put in place to restore access to the stairway. It stated the following:

“9.5.4. The cracking and settlement of the stairs (Item 1 in Cantilever report) is unambiguously related to and a consequence of the collapse of the wall supporting the stair edge at the boundary with the adjoining property. This is reported as occurring during excavation on the adjoining site. (Damage shown on photograph 9 in the Cantilever report is not, in my opinion, related to construction on the adjoining site).

(a) Temporary propping has been installed which in my opinion is adequate to ensure re-support until permanent re-support is reinstated. (Refer to section 10. of this report below).”

19. The cross-reference to section 10 of the report was directed to additional steps which in Mr Herbertson’s opinion should be undertaken in order to provide a permanent engineering solution for the stairway.

20. Mr Herbertson was called in the plaintiff’s case, and cross-examined. He was not asked questions about his opinion as to the adequacy of the temporary propping in place.

The submissions made at trial

21. In final address, in both the defendants’ written and oral submissions, the defendants relied on Mr Herbertson’s evidence. At [6.6] of their written submissions they said:

“Even still Mr Herbertson’s evidence was quite clear that the temporary solution is structurally satisfactory. There is no evidence to suggest why the apartments are unsuitable to be rent. It is worth repeating that recovering compensatory losses in this sense must be reasonable and causative to the apparent loss. In this sense Ms Camuglia’s assertion that it is a bandaid solution might be a way of characterising the solution as temporary but it does not qualify the habitability of the premise[s].”

22. In oral submissions, Mr Ahmad (who appeared alone at trial, but was led in this Court by Mr Turnbull SC) put to the primary judge that:

“[Mr Herbertson’s] report of December 18 identifies that it’s safe.”

He also pointed to the fact that the majority of the tenants had left before any damage had been suffered. He contended that Ms Camuglia’s decision had been to say “well, I’m never going to rent these units”.

23. One aspect of this ground of appeal was that neither this submission, nor the evidence on which it was based, was addressed by the primary judge.

The rulings restricting the use of Ms Camuglia’s and Mr D’Ettorre’s evidence

24. The appellants also submitted that the evidence of Ms Camuglia and Mr D’Ettorre was misused by the primary judge.

25. The portions of Ms Camuglia’s affidavit which survived objection included the following:

“[21] Upon the vacation of Units/Apartments 3, 6, 4, 5 & 1 of the Camuglia Property, I received advice from the leasing agent, D’Ettorre Properties Pty Limited t/as D’Ettorre Real Estate, that it was not possible to re-let those premises by reason of the noise and vibration caused by the Building Works upon the Housman & Alda Property and/or the damage caused to the Camuglia Property by reason of the Building Works.

[22] I have been unable to re-let any of the apartments/units in the Camuglia Property since September 2018.”

26. The first paragraph of that passage was admitted on a limited basis, namely that “the paragraph not be used for the purposes of establishing the truth of the representation made to the deponent by Mr D’Ettorre”.

27. In cross-examination, the fact that Mr Herbertson had given advice that the temporary propping of the stairs was adequate was put to Ms Camuglia as follows:

“Q. As at 6 July 2018, the stairs had been propped by PPC. Do you understand that proposition?

A. Well, I, I see the, the props under the stairs, I see it now. I see it.

Q. Have you understood that Herbertson described the propping of the stairs as structurally satisfactory?

A. Can you repeat the question? I don’t know, because even if I read the report, I don’t understand what they mean, the engineer. I do not understand; I’m sorry, but I don’t understand. That’s what the engineer - I don’t understand that. Maybe --

Q. Do you understand that you’re seeking compensation for lost rent?

A. Well, but, you know--

Q. Do you understand you’re seeking--

A. I’m, well, I’m not getting, I’m not getting any rental money. I’m, I’m not, because--

Q. I’m not asking about what’s happening; I’m asking about whether you understand you’re seeking it?

A. ‘I’m seeking it. I’m seeking it.’ I don’t understand your question that and I, I don’t know the question--

Q. I withdraw the question.”

28. Subsequently, the cross-examination continued:

“Q. I suggest to you that you have currently advertised for the letting of the premises and you’re aware of it.

A. No, that’s not correct and it’s not true.

Q. Can I suggest to you that you have also deliberately chosen not to advertise unit 2 because your son lives in there.

A. That’s not correct and it’s - it’s not true because I’m not - we're advertising it. We’re not advertising it because we can’t lease it. It hasn’t been leased until--

Q. Can you just please confine your answer to the questions?

A. I’m answering your question. I’m saying that I can’t say yes or no because I have to - because the property has been empty since that damage happened because I’m not willing to put people at risk to climb down the stairs that have been damaged.”

29. Mr Dominic Bruno D’Ettorre had been the property’s leasing manager since 2015. He observed the stairway at a site inspection in October 2018, and gave the following evidence, all of which was subject to a ruling that “the evidence be limited to the witness’ perception of the property’s defects and his perception of the effect of those defects on a prospective tenant”:

“(d) Following the site inspection referred to in sub-paragraphs (a) and (b) above, I formed the opinion that it would not have been, or was not, feasible to attempt to re-let the apartments in the Camuglia Property owing to the conditions of the Stairway, the Concrete Path, the Eastern Pathway and the Fencing in that all were unsafe, dangerous and a trap to persons using the Camuglia Property, in particular the difficulties with gaining safe passage to and from the apartments, namely:-

(i) there was not a safe means of access from the street to the Camuglia Property by reason of the Stairway, the Concrete Path, the Eastern Pathway and the Fencing;

(ii) there was not a safe means of ingress and egress to and from the apartments in the Camuglia Property by reason of the Stairway, the Concrete Path, the Eastern Pathway and the Fencing; and

(iii) there was not a safe means of access from the Camuglia Property to the harbour side foreshore by reason of the Stairway, the Concrete Path, the Eastern Pathway and the Fencing.

…

(f) Given the state of and/or damage to the Camuglia Property referred to in sub-paragraphs (a), (b) and (d) above, I do not consider that the apartments in the Camuglia Property are in a state or condition even capable of being advertised for lease, given the associated cost and the unlikelihood of a tenant wishing to live there.

…

(h) Annexed and marked ‘G’ are photographs of the Stairway, the Concrete Path and the Fencing provided to me on 1 November 2019 which I am advised, and verily believe, were recently taken by Marco Camuglia in October 2019. These photographs reinforce my opinion that it is not feasible to attempt to re-let the apartments in the Camuglia Property until such time as the Stairway, the Concrete Path and the Eastern Pathway are all made safe and/or replaced, and the Fencing is removed, for any incoming tenant to gain safe and secure passage to and from the apartments in, and common areas on, the Camuglia Property.”

30. It was also submitted on behalf of the appellants that Ms Camuglia could have let the units out on short term tenancies, via Airbnb. That led to the following exchange:

“TURNBULL: Well, your Honour, short term rentals these days, and there was some evidence that she - although it was withdrawn by her on the second day of the hearing, was that she had attempted to rent them out by Airbnb. There was no difficulty in doing that.

WHITE JA: Well, there is, isn’t there?

TURNBULL: Sorry?

WHITE JA: I thought it was contrary to council requirements. That’s what Mr D'Ettorre said.

TURNBULL: She had tried to do that, though, your Honour. She gave evidence about that. Short term leases were certainly available to her, but, your Honours, that’s not her reason for not letting them out. The reason she gave was because of the safety of the stairs.”

31. That exchange referred to correspondence from the local council, dated 30 September 2018, annexed to Mr D’Ettorre’s affidavit. The council advised that the property could not permissibly be let short term under its zoning, and that a standard 3 month residential lease should be the minimum length of stay. That letter included a direction to:

“[P]lease immediately cease advertising the Property on any short term tourist accommodation websites, including Airbnb and provide Council with a copy of your standard lease agreement for this property once tenants have been accepted”.

Consideration

32. I would accept, favourably to the appellants, that it would have been preferable for reference to the report from Mr Herbertson as to the adequacy of the stairway providing access to the lower four apartments and the cross-examination of Ms Camuglia dealing with that evidence to have been made in the reasons for judgment. However, although Mr Herbertson’s opinion was prominent in the submissions on appeal, it was far less prominent in the closing submissions at trial. And, as will be seen below, there may have been good reason for it not to have been especially prominent at trial.

33. In the foregoing I have refrained from expressing a conclusion whether the reasons were inadequate. That is because in an appeal such as the present, which is not confined to questions of law, and which proceeds by way of rehearing, and where there are no issues of credibility, the adequacy or inadequacy of reasons is usually not to the point. As was said by this Court in Stephenson v Santos [2020] NSWCA 262 at [24]:

“[E]ven if there were a deficiency in the reasons, this Court would not intervene unless it were persuaded that the finding could not stand. This appeal is by way of rehearing, and there is no need for Ms Stephenson to establish error of law. For the reasons given under the heading ‘Inadequacy of reasons as separate ground’ in Shellharbour City Council v Rhiannon Rigby [2006] NSWCA 308, which have subsequently been followed in NSW Police Force v Winter [2011] NSWCA 330 at [89]-[90], these grounds were not of themselves sufficient to make out an appeal.”

34. The same point was made in Capilano Honey Ltd v Dowling (No 2) [2018] NSWCA 217 at [41]:

“If the reasons provided addressed an issue, it is open to the unsuccessful party to challenge the reasoning on appeal. If they did not address an issue, it is open to the unsuccessful party to contend that the matter was not considered by the trial judge and, if materiality is established, the omission demonstrates error on that basis. The reasons given are the judge’s actual reasons for deciding a point. Usually the appeal court can address the substance of the matter and will not remit because the reasons were ‘inadequate’.”

35. I shall follow the usual course described in the passages above and address the substance of the matter, for only if there were error which was productive of injustice would the appeal be allowed and the proceedings remitted for retrial.

36. First, it was unclear from Mr Herbertson’s report how long precisely the “temporary” propping up of the stairway would be adequate. The impression I obtain from the material is that a permanent solution was sought to be put in place in the next weeks or months. That did not occur, in circumstances which need not be summarised in this judgment. It does not seem unreasonable for any decision to let the premises to await the construction of a permanent solution to access, when one was reasonably expected in the short term, especially bearing in mind the need for furniture and other possessions to be delivered to the premises. This may have accounted for the limited attention given at trial to this aspect of Mr Herbertson’s report.

37. Secondly, and more fundamentally, it is one thing for Ms Camuglia to have the benefit of an engineering report that the temporary solution was adequate in terms of safety. It was another thing entirely for Ms Camuglia to have the advice of her leasing manager that the property was incapable even of being advertised to let. That opinion was inherently plausible. If the properties were to be advertised, then the leasing manager had to make a decision to provide information concerning the temporary access or not. It is easy to see that a photograph, even if accompanied by a description of Mr Herbertson’s opinion, would make the apartments unappealing to prospective tenants. On the other hand, if the access obstacles were not disclosed in the advertising, then it is easy to see the irritation which a prospective tenant who inspected the premises and found the hitherto undisclosed difficulties of access might display. In any event, Mr D’Ettorre was not cross-examined about this.

38. In short, while the evidence of Mr Herbertson bore upon the finding made by the primary judge and it would have been preferable for it to have been referred to, even having regard to it, no sufficient case has been made out to impugn the finding.

39. Thirdly, the finding that it was reasonable not to seek to re-let the apartments involved no misuse of the evidence of Ms Camuglia and Mr D’Ettorre having regard to the rulings which had been given. What was critical to the reasonableness of the decision was those witnesses’ perceptions of the position, not the engineering opinion that, superficial appearances notwithstanding, the temporary repairs to the stairway had made it safe.

40. Fourthly, the submissions concerning the possibility of renting the premises short term through Airbnb suffer from the same difficulty. Added to this is the correspondence from the local council mentioned above to the effect that doing so was unlawful, to which the appellants’ submissions paid no regard.

41. Separately from the above, a further obstacle on this issue faced by the appellants may arise having regard to the way the case was pleaded and particularised. At trial, the defendants were directed to particularise the ways in which they said Ms Camuglia had failed to mitigate her loss. They complied with that direction, and no part of those particulars (which were reproduced in full by the primary judge) extended to a claim that she had failed to take reasonable steps to re-let the properties. Insofar as this aspect of the case turns upon failure to mitigate, it is therefore outside the case advanced by the defendants at trial. But the relationship between causation and mitigation is contested. In the United Kingdom, mitigation has been said to be “an aspect of the principle of causation”: Bunge SA v Nidera BV [2015] UKSC 43; 3 All ER 1082 at [81]. On the other hand, McGregor on Damages warns against the danger “of using causation as a sole touchstone to disguise … the real ground of a decision”: J Edelman, McGregor on Damages (21^st ed, Sweet & Maxwell, 2021), at [9.019]. In cases to which the Civil Liability Act 2002 (NSW) applies, s 5D and, especially, s 5E will apply, and as presently advised I am unaware of analysis of the relationship between mitigation and the onus of proving “any fact relevant to the issue of causation” imposed by the latter. Proponents of the separatist and causal approaches, and examples of where the different approach may matter, are discussed in W Courtney, “Contract Damages and the Promisee's Role in its own Loss” (2019) 42(2) MULR 406 in section II(A) “The Controversy and Why it Matters”. The pleading point raised in the present appeal is another example of when this aspect of taxonomy may matter. But nothing turns on it, because irrespective of whether the appellants are precluded from relying on this by their pleading of mitigation, they fail on the facts for the reasons already given, and it is unnecessary to consider the point further.

42. Ground 1 is not made out.

Ground 3 – Challenge to the special costs order

Is there a requirement of leave?

43. Ms Camuglia’s written submissions maintained that the appellants required leave to challenge the exercise of discretion by the primary judge as to costs. She submitted that “if there be a separate item in a notice of appeal relating to costs only it can only be raised with the leave of the Court”. There was said to be:

“no sound reason to permit appeals as of right from discretionary orders going to costs only whether on their own (as proscribed by s 102(1)(c)) or as an adjunct to an appeal from another order as of right. To do so would be contrary to what was described in Zhang v ROC Services (NSW) Pty Ltd; National Transport Insurance by its manager NTI Ltd v Zhang [2016] NSWCA 370; 93 NSWLR 561 at [199] as the evident purpose of s 101(2)(c), namely, to discourage appellate review of such orders.”

44. On 13 April 2021, following receipt of Ms Camuglia’s submissions, the appellants filed a notice of motion seeking leave to appeal as to costs against the possibility that leave was required (I pass over the fact that this should have been by way of summons in a separate proceeding). The appellants nonetheless relied on the reasoning of Lord Denning in Wheeler v Somerfield [1966] 2 QB 94 for the proposition that leave was not required. They noted, however, that the correctness of Wheeler had been left open by this Court in Coffs Harbour City Council v Polglase [2020] NSWCA 265 at [179] and C G Maloney Pty Ltd v Noon [2011] NSWCA 397 at [104]-[106]. In each of those cases, leave to appeal was granted to the extent such leave was necessary, in circumstances where it was not necessary to decide the issue. The same position was adopted in Arena Management Pty Ltd (rec and mgr apptd) v Campbell Street Theatre Pty Ltd (2011) 80 NSWLR 652; [2011] NSWCA 128 at [129] and AF Concrete Pumping Pty Ltd v Ryan [2014] NSWCA 346 at [72]. In Sahade v Bischoff [2015] NSWCA 418 at [166] it was assumed, in the absence of argument, that leave was unnecessary. However, there are decisions in other jurisdictions disapproving Wheeler, many of which are summarised in Apache Northwest Pty Ltd v Department of Mines and Petroleum [2012] WASCA 167 at [97]-[102] commencing with the sentence “That decision has received a mixed reception in Australia”. The strongest disapprobation is found in Road Chalets Pty Ltd v Thornton Motors Pty Ltd (1986) 47 SASR 532 at 538 where Zelling ACJ said that this aspect of Wheeler was “unfortunately … against the whole course of reported cases for a century”.

45. The issue, while it remains unresolved, will continue to engender debate in appeals in this Court. The exchange of submissions in the present appeal, and the review in a recent note in the Australian Law Journal by Mr Prince (“Recent Cases: Coffs Harbour City Council v Polglase [2020] NSWCA 265” (2021) 95 ALJ 181, to which White JA referred the parties), make it appropriate to consider this issue.

44. Appeals are creatures of statute: see eg Walsh v Law Society of New South Wales (1999) 198 CLR 73; [1999] HCA 33 at [50] and Dwyer v Calco Timbers Pty Ltd (2008) 234 CLR 124; [2008] HCA 13 at [2]. As was emphasised in Perara-Cathcart v The Queen (2017) 260 CLR 595; [2017] HCA 9 at [40], it is necessary to “look to the statute in order to determine what question or questions are required to be answered, rather than proceed on a priori assumptions”. Indeed, it will be seen that the same approach was adopted in 19^th century Full Court decisions on previous provisions governing the right of appeal. Thus in determining whether the challenge to the special costs order is available at all, or only with leave, or as of right, the starting point is the terms of the statute.

District Court – expansion in 1995 to permit appeals from costs orders

47. Section 127 of the District Court Act 1973 (NSW) relevantly provides:

127 Right of appeal to Supreme Court

(1) A party who is dissatisfied with a Judge’s or a Judicial Registrar’s judgment or order in an action may appeal to the Supreme Court.

(2) The following appeals lie only by leave of the Supreme Court—

...

(b) an appeal from a judgment or order as to costs only, ...”.

48. That wording was inserted in substantially the same form by the Courts Legislation Further Amendment Act 1995 (NSW), Schedule 1 Item 1.3 [10]. The explanatory note stated, somewhat obliquely, that the amendment would simplify the provisions governing appeals.

49. The new provision replaced an earlier regime which made provision for applications for new trials after a jury’s verdict, and (simplifying slightly) otherwise conferred a right of appeal “from any ruling, order, direction or decision of the Judge in an action”: see, respectively, ss 126 and 127, and s 128(2A), of the District Court Act 1973 in the form those provisions took before 1995. Those words “ruling, order, direction or decision of the Judge” had previously been found in s 142 of the District Courts Act 1912 (NSW) and s 107(1) of the District Courts Act 1901 (NSW). Earlier still, the right of appeal was confined, relevantly, to “the determination or direction of the said Court in point of law”: District Courts Act 1858 (NSW) (22 Vic No 18), s 94. These provisions were held not to extend to appeals as to costs.

50. A plaintiff who obtained an order for detinue in his favour but no order for costs brought an appeal under s 107 of the District Courts Act 1901 in Robinson v Sutton (1909) 9 SR (NSW) 295. Cohen J wrote the leading judgment, with which Pring J and Sly J agreed. The Court followed Dunn v Lowe (1876) 14 SCR 371 which had held that an appeal from the District Court against a costs order did not lie. After dealing with English cases on the Judicature legislation, Cohen J addressed Dight v Gordon (1863) 3 SCR Eq 62, and said it was “sufficient to say that this was a case on the equity side of the Court, where, apparently, different rules prevail, and the decision was based on the words of the statute, and the Court followed the practice of the Courts of Equity in England”: at 297. Cohen J then reproduced s 107 and said:

“I think these words ‘ruling,’ ‘order,’ ‘direction,’ or ‘decision,’ refer to some question which has arisen in the course of the trial, that is to say, up to the time of judgment: some ruling of the Judge, some ruling of law, something going to the merits of the case, or upon the admission or rejection of evidence. These words point to something in the course of the trial, but preceding any question as to costs. In the words of Lord Campbell CJ in Carr v Stringer (EB & E 123), they refer to a determination on a decision of the cause. Here there is no appeal from the decision of the Court apart from the question of costs, which is not included in the words I have just quoted” (at 297-298).

51. The re-enactment of the same language in the 1912 and 1973 statutes is some confirmation that the meaning given to the same words in Robinson v Sutton was endorsed: see for example Vella v Commissioner of Police (NSW) [2019] HCA 38; 93 ALJR 1236 at [19] and [52]; other authorities are considered in Jackmain (a pseudonym) v R (2020) 102 NSWLR 847; [2020] NSWCCA 150 at [166]-[174].

52. Thus s 127(1) and (2)(b) when introduced in 1995 represented an expansion of the scope of District Court appeals from the position which had obtained over the previous century. The new language followed the course taken in the Supreme Court Act 1970 (NSW) which made provision for appeals to the Court of Appeal from the Supreme Court constituted by a single judge.

Supreme Court – imposition in 1972 of requirement of leave upon costs appeals

53. Prior to the commencement of the Supreme Court Act 1970 (NSW) on 1 July 1972, the position was markedly different in equity. Far from there being no appeal at all, appeals in equity lay as of right from decrees or orders as to costs.

54. Section 21 of the Administration of Justice Act 1840 (4 Vic No 22) had authorised the nomination of a judge to hear and determine matters in Equity. “[A]ny person feeling aggrieved by any such decree or order at any time within fourteen days next after the pronouncing or making of the same” was authorised to enter an appeal against such decree or order (originally to the other two judges of the Court, expanded to three judges by s 13 of the Advancement of Justice Act 1841 (5 Vic No 9)). The circumstances in which this legislation was enacted are described in a note, “The Primary Judge in Equity” (2016) 90 ALJ 783.

55. Two divided decisions of the Full Court had held that the words “any decree or order” bore their ordinary meaning, and extended to appeals where the only issue was costs, although that position was only reached with some expressions of dissatisfaction.

56. In Dight v Gordon, Stephen CJ said that:

“The Court here is in a different position from that of the Vice Chancellor in England. We are governed by the wording of the Statute under which appeals in Equity are brought (4 Vic No 22, s 21), which provides ‘that it shall be lawful for any person feeling aggrieved by any such decree or order, at any time within fourteen days next after the pronouncing or making of the same, to enter an appeal in the office of the Court against such decree or order, &c.’ This, in my opinion, obliges us to hear appeals of all sorts, and leaves us no discretion as to whether we ought or ought not to entertain an appeal for costs.”

57. Wise J agreed, regretting that there was no alternative in light of the statute, but noting:

“It is plain that in England the Court would not allow any such appeal; and if it had not been for the express words in the statute, I should have had no doubt that we could not have allowed it.”

58. Milford J dissented, saying that “if the Courts of appeal in England can refuse to hear appeals upon costs, we can do so here”. His Honour did not explain how that construction accorded with the statute upon which his colleagues had based their decision.

59. The second Full Court decision was Dixon v Williams (1875) 13 SCR Eq 7. This was an appeal by the plaintiff from a decree by the primary judge in Equity (Hargrave J) that the defendant should have his taxed solicitor/client costs from the trust estate. The Full Court was constituted by Martin CJ, Hargrave J and Faucett J. Over Hargrave J’s dissent, the appeal was allowed. Faucett J commenced his judgment:

“This is an appeal solely on the question of costs, and I regret that the English practice, which does not allow an appeal for costs, is not followed here.”

60. Hargrave J, dissenting, considered that his own judgment was correct, on the basis that the Full Court’s earlier decision in Dight v Gordon was:

“quite contrary to the universal English practice (see the cases collected in Daniel’s Practice, Vol III, pp 1347-50), and also contrary to our own practice in appeals from a Judge at Chambers”.

61. Once again, no attempt was made to address the language of the statute.

62. Thereafter, s 70 of the Equity Act 1880 (NSW) and s 81 of the Equity Act 1901 (NSW) seemingly expanded the scope of appeals confined to costs, the latter providing that “[a]ny person aggrieved by any decree or order of the Judge, whether sitting in open Court or in chambers, may ... enter an appeal”. The re-enactment of the earlier statutory language, this time expanded to include orders made in chambers, was regarded as confirmatory of the construction reached under the 1840 statute. The notes on p 109 of W Parker, The Practice in Equity (New South Wales) (Law Book Co of Australasia Ltd, 1930) identify a series of cases dealing with appeals for costs only. One is Eberlein v Eberlein (1887) 8 LR (NSW) Eq 1, where the only question was costs, and which proceeded on the basis that the appeal lay as of right.

63. That was the position in equity until 1972.

The English position adopted in 1972 and extended in 1995 to District Court appeals

64. The 1995 amendments introducing s 127(2)(b) of the District Court Act 1973 aligned the position to that which applied to Supreme Court appeals (that, presumably, is the meaning of the “simplification” mentioned in the explanatory note). Section 101(2)(c) of the Supreme Court Act 1970 (NSW) is in materially identical terms. As is pointed out in Mr Prince’s note, s 101(2)(c) of the Supreme Court Act 1970 (originally enacted as s 101(3)(a)) itself derives from English provisions. In England, a different approach had long been taken.

65. Prior to the Judicature reforms which commenced in 1876, appeals in England lay (a) within the Court of Chancery (from the Vice Chancellors and the Master of the Rolls to the Lord Chancellor and, after its creation in 1851, to the Court of Appeal in Chancery); (b) from the civilian courts (including admiralty and ecclesiastical matters) and the colonial courts to the Privy Council, and (c) from a variety of courts to the House of Lords (Disraeli’s success in preventing the abolition of most appeals to the House of Lords, effected by the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876, is described in D Steele, “The Judicial House of Lords: Abolition and Restoration 1873-6” in L Blom-Cooper et al (eds), The Judicial House of Lords 1876-2009 (Oxford University Press, 2009), pp 13-29).

66. Absent from the foregoing is reference to the superior courts at common law at Westminster, and the multitude of local courts administering common law. That reflects Dixon J’s observation that “[a]ppeal as distinguished from error was not a process of the common law”: Victorian Stevedoring and General Contracting Co Pty Ltd v Dignan (1931) 46 CLR 73 at 108; [1931] HCA 34, and see Dwyer v Calco Timbers at [2].

67. The prevailing rule in all those areas was that an appeal could not be brought confined to a question of costs, at least unless there was some patent error or mistake in the order. However, if there was some other non-colourable ground of appeal, then the appellate court could revisit the issue of costs, even if the other ground failed.

68. The English pre-Judicature position, which was evidently familiar in colonial New South Wales, was explained in a large number of decisions. First, in Chancery, in Owen v Griffith (1749) 1 Ves Sen 250; 27 ER 1012, the general rule that there could not be an appeal for costs only was insisted on. Lord Hardwicke LC said of the rule:

“The foundation of it was to prevent vexation and trouble; for as cases in equity often depend on abundance of circumstances, about which as the reason of mankind might differ, it would create perpetual appeals; but this is no printed rule; and it seems somewhat strict and hard to adhere to it …”.

69. Similarly, Lord Lyndhurst LC said in Attorney-General v Butcher (1827) 4 Russ 180 at 181; 38 ER 773 at 773-4 that:

“[t]he rule is, that you cannot appeal for costs alone. But if a party appeals, having a substantial ground of appeal, and a fair question to agitate, and brings in the question of costs along with it, he may succeed with respect to the costs, though he does not succeed on the substantial ground of appeal … A point is not to be put forward as a ground of appeal merely for the purpose of covering an appeal on the question of costs.”

70. In the Privy Council, appeals on costs alone were disfavoured. In Mussumat Keemee Baee v Latchman-das Narrain-das (1837) 1 Moo Ind App 470; 18 ER 188, it was said that “no appeal against a decree merely as to costs would be allowed” where costs were in the discretion of the court (the decisions altering the first instance order as to costs were, however, affirmed because there had been no discretion as to costs in the court below). In Attenborough v Kemp (1861) 14 Moo PC 351 at 352-3; 15 ER 338 at 339 (an appeal from the Court of Arches on a disputed church rate), Turner LJ for the Privy Council advised:

“[Their Lordships] do not wish to lay it down as a general rule, that in no case would there be an appeal in respect of costs, and of costs alone; because there might be cases where discretion has not been fairly exercised upon the question at issue, and the decision of the Court below has proceeded upon mistake or misapprehension. Their Lordships do not think that any general rule can be laid down which must apply to cases of this description. Such cases their Lordships desire to leave untouched; but where there has been bona fide care and discretion exercised on the part of the Judge who has decided the case, their Lordships have no hesitation in stating their opinion to be, that in such a case no appeal will lie in respect of costs alone.”

71. That approach was applied in Richards v Birley (1864) 2 Moo PC (NS) 96; 15 ER 838 (on appeal from the Prerogative Court of York disputing another church rate) and in Yeo v Tatem (1871) 3 LR PC 696 at 702 (an admiralty appeal).

72. In the House of Lords, dealing with a Scottish appeal, Lord Brougham wrote in Inglis v Mansfield (1835) 3 Cl & Fin 362 at 371; 6 ER 1472 at 1476:

“The rule with respect to costs in this House, as well as in the Privy Council and the Court of Chancery, is, that you cannot appeal for costs alone; but you can bring an appeal on the merits; and if that is not a colourable ground of appeal for the purpose of introducing the question of costs to the Court called upon to review the case, the Court of Review will treat that, not as an appeal for costs, but will, in affirming the judgment given in the Court below, consider the question of costs as if it is fairly raised.”

73. There were exceptions including where a question of principle was involved or where there was patent error. See for example Yeo v Tatem at 702, and see the cases cited in The Annual Practice 1961 (Sweet & Maxwell Ltd, London, 1960), Vol 1 at p 1846 and Morgan and Wurtzburg, A Treatise on the law of Costs in the Chancery Division of the High Court of Justice (2^nd ed, Stevens and Sons, London, 1882) at p 160.

The Judicature legislation

74. The Judicature legislation extended the right of appeal to the (newly created) Court of Appeal from all Divisions of the (newly created) High Court of Justice. However, s 49 of the Judicature Act 1873 provided:

“No order made by the High Court of Justice or any Judge thereof, by the consent of parties, or as to costs only, which by law are left to the discretion of the Court, shall be subject to any appeal, except by leave of the Court or Judge making such order.”

75. The language “as to costs only” will be noted. That is reflected in the current forms of s 101(2)(c) of the Supreme Court Act 1970 and s 127(2)(b) of the District Court Act 1973. Broadly speaking, s 49 replicated the existing position. However, it will also be noted that s 49 of the Judicature Act made the grant of leave from the judge at first instance a condition of appellate jurisdiction in those appeals to which it applied. This was re-enacted in some Australian legislation (for example, s 27 of The Judicature Act 1883 (Vic) (47 Vic No 761)) but was not repeated in New South Wales, where it was the Court of Appeal which could grant leave, if leave be needed. That distinction has made it possible to avoid resolving the point by granting leave to the extent necessary (see the decisions in [44] above).

76. The effect of the prohibition upon appeals as to costs only was raised in the Court of Appeal in Harris v Aaron (1877) 4 Ch D 749. The plaintiff’s bill had been dismissed, but without costs. The plaintiff appealed. The defendant sought, in the event the appeal was dismissed, to challenge the absence of a costs order at first instance. James LJ, with whom Mellish and Baggallay LJJ concurred, said:

“[T]he Court had no power to alter the direction of the Vice-Chancellor as to costs, which were entirely within his discretion. The 49^th section of the Judicature Act, 1873, was imperative.”

77. Harpham v Shacklock (1881) 19 Ch D 207 was similar. After the appeal had been dismissed, the successful respondent sought a variation to the Vice-Chancellor’s order as to costs. Sir George Jessel MR said:

“If we were to vary the order of the Court below as to costs when an appeal on the merits fails, we should practically be allowing an appeal for costs only, and appeals would be brought nominally on the merits, but really only for the purpose of varying the order as to costs.”

78. Baggallay LJ said that “we must follow the rule that there shall be no appeal upon the question of costs only.”

79. In both those decisions, the Court of Appeal was dealing with an informal application which in substance amounted to a cross-appeal against the failure to make a costs order in favour of the respondent to the appeal.

80. Harris v Aaron and Harpham v Shacklock are mentioned at p 1845 of the 1961 Annual Practice under the heading “Appeal as to Costs”. The text reproduced the successor provision to s 49 of the Judicature Act 1873, namely, s 31 of the Supreme Court of Judicature (Consolidation) Act 1925, preventing appeals “as to costs only which by law are left to the discretion of the Court” without obtaining the leave of the Court or Judge making the order, and then stated:

“Generally. – See Harris v Aaron (1877) 4 Ch D 749 (no power to vary as to costs only even where whole decree appealed against); Harpham v Shacklock (1881) 19 Ch D p 215 (same point)...”

Modern Australian decisions

81. In Road Chalets Pty Ltd v Thornton Motors Pty Ltd (1986) 47 SASR 532, Zelling ACJ addressed a submission that leave was not required to challenge a costs order in circumstances where there were other substantive grounds of appeal which had failed. His Honour said that the proposition in Wheeler v Somerfield that the appeal extended to the ground concerning costs was quite wrong, and proceeded on the basis of a concession which ought not to have been made. He added:

“If counsel had taken the care to look at the Annual Practice he would have found that there was ample authority for the proposition which he was asserting. I need only refer to the decision of the Court of Appeal in Harris v Aaron (1877) 4 Ch D 749 which is a clear authority for the long-standing practice of the Court and which would have bound the later Court of Appeal had they been referred to it in Wheeler’s case, and I refer also to the discussion of the matter in the 1961 Annual Practice, vol 1, p 1845.”

82. As Mr Prince has explained, this is incorrect. Harris v Aaron was a challenge to a costs order by the respondent to an appeal. The respondent made no other challenges to the order. It is tolerably clear that a cross-appeal confined to costs is caught by the provision requiring leave to appeal “as to costs only”. The report of Harris v Aaron is a little confusing, because the respondent’s challenge was rejected peremptorily, before the judgment dealt with the failure of the appellant’s appeal on substantive grounds, and the summary in the Annual Practice is also less than pellucidly clear. I would also note that the point was not fully argued in Road Chalets (as is recorded at 551) and was not addressed by Cox J or O’Loughlin J.

82. This Court has held, relying upon Wheeler v Somerfield, that an appellant with a bona fide ground of appeal enjoyed as of right may also challenge a costs order without leave: see Tyco Australia Pty Ltd v Optus Networks Pty Ltd [2004] NSWCA 333 at [200] and Dasreef Pty Ltd v Hawchar [2010] NSWCA 154 at [61]. In light of the statement in Road Chalets that Wheeler v Somerfield should not be followed, there has been hesitation on the point, notably in Arena Management Pty Ltd (recs & apptd) v Campbell Street Theatre Pty Ltd at [129]. But the matters mentioned above persuade me that the statement in Road Chalets is incorrect and ought not to be followed. And indeed, the weight of authority in New South Wales thereafter, notably Dillon v Gosford City Council [2011] NSWCA 328; 284 ALR 619 at [53]-[57], supports the proposition already reached that where there is a substantive ground of appeal as of right, then even if that ground fails, the appellant may nonetheless challenge the costs order as of right. (Of course, if one or more of the substantive grounds succeeds, the costs discretion will have to be re-exercised and thus any ground of appeal as to costs will be otiose.) A discussion of the position in relation to other statutory provisions, many of which are slightly different, is found in Muswellbrook Shire Council v Hunter Valley Energy Pty Ltd [2019] NSWCA 216; 372 ALR 695 at [46]-[63].

83. The upshot of the above is that an appeal raising bona fide substantive grounds as well as costs is not an appeal as to “costs only” within the meaning of s 101(2)(c) of the Supreme Court Act 1970 or s 127(2)(b) of the District Court Act 1973, and that remains so even if the substantive grounds are rejected. There is no reason to depart from the construction which has hitherto been given to the provisions, which reflect an intermediate position from what had previously been the case in equity and in District Court appeals, and one which aligned the position in New South Wales with that in the United Kingdom. While it was appropriate to adopt a cautious approach in light of the criticism in Road Chalets, a fuller examination enables the conclusion to be reached that ground 3 of the appellants’ appeal is as of right. That construction respects the language of the provision, and aligns with the legislative history summarised above. It also accords with the practical consideration that there is little benefit in there being a separate requirement of leave, where three Judges of Appeal are already required to consider the substantive grounds in an appeal brought as of right.

Appellants’ submissions on ground 3

85. The substance of this ground, in contrast with whether it is available as of right, may be resolved much more concisely.

86. The appellants accepted, correctly, that they needed to establish House v The King error in order to challenge the exercise of discretion as to costs, but said that such error was disclosed, in three ways.

87. First, they said, that the offer was not one which would “meet one third of [Ms Camuglia’s] legal costs” and the primary judge erred in saying that it was. Instead, the $100,000 was two thirds of the $150,000 which had been represented to be Ms Camuglia’s costs at that time.

88. Secondly, relying upon a bill of costs brought into existence in January of this year, they ultimately submitted that Ms Camuglia’s costs had not been $150,000 as at 23 August 2019, but materially less, some $113,696.10.

89. Thirdly, they submitted that the evidence which was ultimately dispositive, that of the leasing agent Mr D’Ettorre, had not been served at the time the offer was rejected.

Consideration

90. I do not consider that any basis to re-exercise the discretion as to costs has been made out. The crucial consideration was that the offer was substantially more advantageous than the judgment Ms Camuglia ultimately obtained. The fact that her costs at that time are now shown to be some $113,696.10 rather than $150,000 does not materially detract from the substantiality of the compromise when viewed as a whole. The insignificance of the costs component was reflected in the failure on the part of the appellants to make any inquiries as to the basis of costs being $150,000, as the primary judge observed.

91. The error concerning the compromise amount of $150,000 being two thirds, rather than the one third stated by the primary judge, is an obvious slip and immaterial.

92. I do not regard the subsequent service of Mr D’Ettorre’s affidavits as material. Two days prior to the offer, Ms Camuglia’s affidavit of 21 August 2019 had been served, [21] and [22] of which have been reproduced above. The essential case advanced by Ms Camuglia, namely, that D’Ettorre Properties Pty Ltd had told her that it was not possible to re-let the properties by reason of the noise and vibration caused by the building works and the damage to the property was available to the defendants at the time they reviewed the offer.

93. Ground 3 is not made out.

Orders

94. For those reasons, although the appellants are correct to submit that their appeal is as of right, their appeal should be dismissed. There is no reason why costs should not follow the event. If either side seeks a special costs order, application may be made within the time specified by UCPR r 36.16.

95. WHITE JA: I agree with Leeming JA.

**********

Amendments

11 October 2021 - Coversheet – “4 Russ 179” changed to “4 Russ 180”, “8 SCR Eq 1” changed to “8 LR (NSW) Eq 1”, “1 Ves Sen 249” changed to “1 Ves Sen 250” and “7 SASR 532” changed to “47 SASR 532” in list of cases cited

Headnote, holding 2 – “7 SASR 532” changed to “47 SASR 532”

[44] – “7 SASR 532” changed to “47 SASR 532”

[62] – “8 SCR Eq 1” changed to “8 LR (NSW) Eq 1”

[68] – “1 Ves Sen 249” changed to “1 Ves Sen 250”

[69] – “4 Russ 179” changed to “4 Russ 180”

Decision last updated: 11 October 2021