HUGHES & OLIVER

In the matter of *Hughes & Oliver*, Cleary J of the Federal Circuit Court of Australia was required to determine the appropriate costs orders following proceedings between the parties. The dispute concerned the allocation of costs arising from a trial concluded on 24 July 2018 and subsequent applications heard on 16 November 2018 and 17 December 2018.

The central legal issue before the Court was whether the costs should be awarded on a standard or indemnity basis, and which party should bear those costs. Specifically, the Court had to consider the circumstances surrounding the trial and the later applications to determine if there were grounds to depart from the usual order for costs to follow the event on a standard basis.

Cleary J ordered that the wife pay the husband’s costs of and incidental to the trial concluded on 24 July 2018, calculated from 28 July 2017, on an indemnity basis. Furthermore, the wife was ordered to pay the husband’s costs of the applications conducted on 16 November 2018 and 17 December 2018, including the preparation of the Application and Affidavit in Support by Natalie Dadisho solicitor, also on an indemnity basis. These costs are to be agreed or assessed.