Moses v State of New South Wales (No. 4)

Moses v State of New South Wales (No. 4) involved a plaintiff, Moses, who had been wrongfully arrested, falsely imprisoned, maliciously prosecuted, and defamed by the defendant, the State of New South Wales. The case was heard in the Supreme Court of New South Wales, where Moses sought damages for these wrongs and, subsequently, an order for the defendant to pay his legal costs.

The legal issues before the court were whether the defendant, having achieved partial success in the proceedings, should only pay a proportion of the plaintiff's costs, and if the plaintiff was entitled to indemnity costs due to the defendant's conduct. Specifically, the court had to consider the interaction between section 40 of the Defamation Act 2005 (NSW) and the concept of "walk away" offers in the context of costs orders.

The court found that, given the defendant's partial success in the defamation action, it was appropriate to order the defendant to pay 80% of the plaintiff's costs. This decision was based on the balance of success in the litigation and the specific provisions of section 40 of the Defamation Act. The court held that the defendant's conduct did not warrant an order for indemnity costs. Accordingly, the plaintiff's application for indemnity costs was dismissed, and each party was ordered to bear their own costs in relation to the application for costs.