Marinis v Jeweller

The appeal concerned an application for adequate provision from the estate of a deceased person under the *Family Provision Act 1982* (NSW). The appellant, the de facto spouse of the deceased, sought provision from the estate, while the respondent was the executor. The appeal was heard by the Court of Appeal of New South Wales.

The primary legal issue before the Court of Appeal was whether to grant the respondent's belated application for indemnity costs. This application was based on a settlement offer made by the respondent during the pendency of the appeal, which the appellant ultimately failed to achieve a better result than.

The Court noted that while the settlement offer was not formally a *Calderbank* offer, it could still be taken into account for costs. The Court reasoned that the offer was made sufficiently early in the appeal process for the appellant to have reasonably considered it, and that parties should give serious consideration to such offers. However, the Court also acknowledged that the appeal was not entirely hopeless. Balancing these factors, the Court concluded that a special order for indemnity costs was not warranted in the proper exercise of discretion. The appeal was dismissed with costs.