Masters (deceased) & Parsons

The proceedings before Loughnan J involved a dispute between a wife and two interveners. The wife sought to recover certain assets, which the interveners claimed were theirs. The core of the dispute concerned the ownership of these assets and the wife's entitlement to them.

The primary legal issue before the Court was to determine the costs of the proceedings, specifically whether the wife should be ordered to pay the costs incurred by the First and Second Interveners. A secondary issue arose regarding the costs of separate proceedings in the Supreme Court of New South Wales, and whether those costs were to be considered incidental to the current proceedings.

Loughnan J ordered that the wife pay the costs of the First and Second Interveners in the present proceedings, either as agreed or as assessed by the Court. The Court further clarified that the costs incurred by the First Interveners in separate proceedings in the Supreme Court of New South Wales were not to be considered costs of and incidental to the current proceedings before Loughnan J.