Meriton Properties Pty Ltd v DCM Leases-Five Pty Ltd (No 2)

Meriton Properties Pty Ltd (the Applicant) sought costs against DCM Leases-Five Pty Ltd (the First Respondent) under the Administrative Decisions Tribunal Act 1997, section 88, as well as against a second party, [Second Respondent] (the Second Respondent). The proceedings involved an application to the Supreme Court of New South Wales for judicial review of a decision made by the Administrative Decisions Tribunal. The Applicant succeeded in its application for judicial review, leading to the present application for costs.

The court had to determine whether the First Respondent's position throughout the proceedings was unreasonable and whether the Applicant's application for costs against the Second Respondent should be granted. The Applicant argued that the First Respondent's conduct in opposing the application for judicial review was unreasonable. The Applicant also sought costs against the Second Respondent, claiming that it unreasonably intervened in the proceedings.

The court found that the First Respondent's opposition to the application for judicial review was unreasonable, leading to the conclusion that the Applicant was entitled to costs against the First Respondent. However, the court dismissed the application for costs against the Second Respondent, finding that the Second Respondent's intervention was not unreasonable. The court ordered that the First Respondent pay the Applicant's costs, as agreed or assessed under the Legal Profession Act 2004, and dismissed the application for costs against the Second Respondent.