Knight & Anor v FP Special Assets Limited

The applicants, Desmond William Knight and William Gerard Malone, sought special leave to appeal to the High Court of Australia against orders made by a lower court. The dispute concerned the extent to which a court possesses the power or discretion to order costs against a non-party to proceedings, particularly in circumstances where that non-party has not been guilty of any impropriety. The applicants' primary submission was that, until recently, courts had consistently held that their general discretion to award costs was limited to parties involved in the litigation.

The central legal issue before the High Court was the scope of a court's power to award costs against a non-party. Specifically, the applicants contended that a general costs provision should not be interpreted to allow for such orders against individuals who have had no relationship to the proceedings, arguing that any attempt to do so would constitute a wrong exercise of discretion. They sought to establish that the lower court's decision to make such an order raised a significant question of law that warranted the High Court's attention.