Liquor Marketing Group v Sadler

Liquor Marketing Group Pty Ltd and others (appellants) appealed against orders made by Levine J concerning the costs of an application before him, which followed a successful appeal by the plaintiff, Mr Sadler, against a judgment of Goldring DCJ. The primary dispute concerned the appropriate allocation of costs following a complex litigation history involving a claim for damages and subsequent applications.

The central legal issues before the Court of Appeal were: (1) whether the orders of Levine J regarding the costs of the application before him were correct, and (2) what orders should be made concerning the costs of the appeal itself and the costs of the trial before Goldring DCJ.

The Court of Appeal found that Levine J had erred in ordering the plaintiff to pay two-thirds of the defendants' costs of the application before him. The Court reasoned that the plaintiff's success on appeal in setting aside the original judgment and ordering a new trial on damages meant that the plaintiff should not have been ordered to bear a significant portion of the defendants' costs for the application that followed. The Court also considered the costs of the trial before Goldring DCJ, noting that these costs should be determined by the judge who would hear the new trial regarding damages, as the original judgment had been set aside.

Consequently, the Court of Appeal ordered that the respondent (Mr Sadler) pay the appellants' costs of the appeal, with a certificate available under the Suitors' Fund Act if qualified. The costs of the trial before Goldring DCJ were to be as ordered by the judge hearing the new trial as to damages. The order of Levine J that the defendants pay two-thirds of the plaintiff's costs of the application before him was set aside, and in lieu thereof, it was ordered that the plaintiff pay the defendants' costs of that application.