Lianos v Order of AHEPA NSW Inc (No 5)

The applicants, referred to as the Eight Chapters, sought to join the proceedings and reopen an appeal after the Court of Appeal of New South Wales had already delivered its decision. The respondents were the Dissenting Members and the Association. The dispute concerned the costs of the unsuccessful applications for joinder and reopening.

The primary legal issue before the Court of Appeal was the appropriate allocation of costs following the unsuccessful applications. Specifically, the Court had to determine whether the applicants should bear the full costs of the respondents, or if a partial order was warranted, considering the limited success the applicants achieved in having certain orders varied due to a misapprehension by the Court.

The Court reasoned that while the applicants' applications for joinder and reopening were largely unsuccessful, they did achieve a measure of success in having the orders varied to address a misapprehension. However, the respondents achieved significant success on the substantial issues of the appeal. Consequently, the Court ordered that the applicants pay 50% of the costs of the first to third respondents (the Dissenting Members). No costs order was made as between the Dissenting Members and the fourth respondent (the Association).