NWC Finance Pty Ltd v Borsellino (No 2)

In the case of NWC Finance Pty Ltd v Borsellino, the matter was before the Federal Circuit Court. The dispute centred around an application by NWC Finance for costs, following a previous adjournment that led to the dismissal of the proceedings. The respondent, Borsellino, had sought an adjournment of the matter, which was granted, resulting in the dismissal of the claim. NWC Finance then applied for costs, arguing that the dismissal should not preclude them from recovering costs up until the point of the adjournment.

The legal issues before the court were whether NWC Finance was entitled to recover costs incurred up until the adjournment, and if so, what the appropriate amount of those costs should be. The court had to consider the principles governing costs in litigation, particularly in cases where a party's claim is dismissed following an adjournment. The court also needed to determine if any exceptional circumstances justified deviating from the usual rules of costs.

The court held that there were no exceptional circumstances warranting a deviation from the usual rules of costs. It was noted that the dismissal of the proceedings was not due to any fault of NWC Finance, but rather the result of the adjournment. The court found that NWC Finance was entitled to recover costs up until the point of the adjournment, as the dismissal was not a result of any action or inaction by them. The amount of costs was assessed based on the work done up until the adjournment, and the court ordered that Borsellino pay the assessed costs to NWC Finance.