Nikolic v Nationwide News Pty Ltd

The case of Nikolic v Nationwide News Pty Ltd was heard in the Supreme Court of New South Wales. The dispute arose from a series of baseless allegations made by the plaintiff, Nikolic, against the defendants, Nationwide News and their legal representatives. The allegations were made in the context of applications for leave to appeal, which were ultimately dismissed as manifestly hopeless. The defendants sought costs under the Supreme Court (General Civil Procedure) Rules 2015, arguing that the applications were without merit and intended to cause delay and expense.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether the defendants were entitled to indemnity costs for the manifestly hopeless applications and whether the costs should be awarded on a gross sum basis to avoid the expense, delay, and aggravation involved in taxation. The court considered the relevant provisions of the Supreme Court (General Civil Procedure) Rules 2015, particularly rules 63.07, 63.28, 63.30, and 63.30.1, which provide for the award of indemnity costs in cases where an application is manifestly hopeless.

The court found that the applications for leave to appeal were indeed manifestly hopeless, as they were based on baseless allegations of misconduct. The court emphasised the importance of protecting the judicial process from such frivolous applications. Given the nature of the applications, the court determined that the defendants were entitled to indemnity costs. The court also ruled that the costs should be awarded on a gross sum basis to avoid the additional expense, delay, and aggravation involved in a detailed taxation process.

In light of the above, the court ordered that the defendants were entitled to indemnity costs of the manifestly hopeless applications for leave to appeal. The costs were to be assessed on a gross sum basis, ensuring that the defendants could recover their costs without the need for a detailed taxation process. This approach aimed to deter similar frivolous applications in the future and protect the integrity of the judicial process.