Karmakar v Minister for Health (No 3)

The case of Karmakar v Minister for Health (No 3) involved the applicant, Karmakar, who filed a claim against the Minister for Health and other respondents. The nature of the dispute centred around an application for costs by the respondents, who sought reimbursement for expenses incurred during the litigation process. The case was heard in the Federal Court of Australia.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether the respondents were entitled to costs under section 64 of the Judiciary Act 1903 (Cth). Specifically, the court had to determine if the unsuccessful substantive application was of public interest, which would warrant a departure from the usual costs order. Additionally, the court needed to decide on the costs related to the summary judgment and related strikeout application, which had been withdrawn following amendments to the statement of claim.

In its reasoning, the court held that there was no evidence to suggest that the applicant had acted in a representative capacity, and no public interest merited a departure from the usual costs order. The court also noted that the applicant had made a submission on a constitutional issue, which was not sufficient to warrant an exception to the standard costs order. Consequently, the court ruled that the respondents were entitled to their costs under section 64 of the Judiciary Act. However, regarding the summary judgment and related strikeout application, the court found that no further order as to costs was appropriate, given that the applications had been withdrawn.

The final orders of the court were that the applicant would pay the first, second and fifth respondents' costs of and incidental to the proceedings, to be fixed by a registrar if not agreed. In respect of the interlocutory application heard on 19 September 2019 for summary judgment or the striking out of pleadings, the applicant was to pay the costs thrown away as a result of the further amendments to the statement of claim and originating application.