North Coast Children's Home Inc. trading as Child and Adolescent Specialist Programs and Accommodation (CASPA) v Martin (No. 2)

The plaintiffs, North Coast Children's Home Inc. trading as Child and Adolescent Specialist Programs and Accommodation (CASPA), filed a defamation action against the defendant, Martin, in the Supreme Court of New South Wales. The plaintiffs sought damages for defamatory statements made about their professional conduct and suitability to work with children. The dispute centered on the calculation of interest on the awarded damages and the appropriate basis for awarding costs.

The legal issues the court was required to decide included the rate and start date for interest on the award of damages and the appropriate basis for awarding costs. The plaintiffs argued that they were entitled to indemnity costs from the date of entry of judgment, as the defendant failed to make any offer after the entry of judgment. The defendant contested the plaintiffs' entitlement to such costs, arguing that the court should not award indemnity costs without clear statutory or common law authority.

The court held that the appropriate rate for interest on the award of damages was 5% per annum, starting from 12 months before the writ was filed. Regarding costs, the court ordered the defendant to pay the plaintiffs' costs of and incidental to these proceedings from the commencement of proceedings until 14 March 2014 on a party/party basis and thereafter on an indemnity basis. The court found that the plaintiffs were entitled to indemnity costs from the date of entry of judgment, as the defendant had failed to make any offer after the entry of judgment. The court concluded that the plaintiffs' entitlement to indemnity costs was supported by statutory provisions and common law authority.