L.N.E Cunneen and Co Pty Ltd v Allan Vincent Blackburn

In this case, the respondent, Allan Vincent Blackburn, was the plaintiff, and the appellant, L.N.E Cunneen and Co Pty Ltd, was the defendant. The dispute involved a claim by Blackburn for damages in respect of a contract for the sale of goods. The matter was heard in the Supreme Court of South Australia.

The primary legal issue the court needed to address was whether the costs of the trial should follow the event, meaning that the losing party should bear the costs of the proceedings. Additionally, the court had to determine whether the costs should be apportioned between the parties or if there was a question of principle involved that would require a different approach.

The court ruled that there was no question of principle that would prevent the costs from following the event. It was established that the usual rule is that costs follow the event, and there were no exceptional circumstances in this case that would warrant a deviation from this rule. The court found that Blackburn was entitled to recover his costs from Cunneen and Co, as he was the prevailing party in the litigation.

The court did not find it necessary to apportion the costs between the parties as it was clear that Blackburn had succeeded in his claim. Therefore, the court ordered that the costs of the appeal be paid by Cunneen and Co to Blackburn.