New South Wales Crime Commission v Police Integrity Commission; Giorgiutti v Police Integrity Commission (No 3)

The case before the court involved the New South Wales Crime Commission and the Police Integrity Commission, with a further plaintiff, Giorgiutti, also participating. The primary dispute revolved around the principles of costs following a legal event, specifically in the context of a case where the plaintiffs were unsuccessful on a major issue but achieved success on a minor one. The matter was heard in the Supreme Court of New South Wales. The court's task was to determine the appropriate allocation of costs, considering the mixed outcomes of the plaintiffs and the subsequent proceedings that involved only one of the plaintiffs.

The central legal issues before the court were whether the costs should be awarded on a "follow the event" basis, and if so, how this principle should be applied given the differing outcomes on the major and minor issues. The court needed to balance the overall results of the litigation against the individual outcomes on specific issues. The plaintiffs argued for a costs order that reflected their partial success, while the defendants contended that the costs should not be apportioned in such a manner.

The court found that the principle of "follow the event" was applicable in this instance. It ruled that the proportion of costs should be determined on the overall basis of the litigation, taking into account the mixed outcomes. Given that the plaintiffs were unsuccessful on the major issue but successful on the minor one, the court decided that the costs should reflect this balance. Furthermore, the court noted the subsequent proceedings that involved only one of the plaintiffs, which influenced the final costs order. The court concluded that the costs should be apportioned in a manner that recognised the overall results of the litigation, while also considering the subsequent proceedings.