Jones v The Owners Strata Plan No. 93087

In Jones v The Owners Strata Plan No. 93087, the dispute centred around a claim for costs made against the owners corporation, which had not participated in the substantive proceedings. The plaintiff, Jones, sought to recover costs from the owners corporation on the basis that it had contributed to the proceedings indirectly by funding the defendants. The owners corporation, on the other hand, argued that it should not be liable for costs as it had not participated in the litigation. The matter was ultimately heard by the Civil and Administrative Tribunal of New South Wales.

The primary legal issue for the tribunal was whether special circumstances existed that would warrant the imposition of costs against the owners corporation. The tribunal considered the principles of costs in equity and the nature of the owners corporation's involvement in the proceedings. It was necessary to determine if the owners corporation's indirect funding of the defendants constituted sufficient participation to justify a claim for costs against it.

The tribunal found that the owners corporation's indirect funding of the defendants did not amount to participation in the proceedings. The owners corporation had not been a party to the litigation and had not engaged in any actions that would warrant a claim for costs against it. The tribunal held that there were no special circumstances that would justify imposing costs on the owners corporation. Consequently, the tribunal dismissed the costs applications from both parties, ordering each to bear their own costs of and incidental to the proceedings. The tribunal dispensed with a hearing on the question of costs pursuant to section 50(2) of the Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2013 (NSW).