Pavlovic v Universal Music Australia Pty Ltd (No 2)

The dispute in *Pavlovic v Universal Music Australia Pty Ltd (No 2)* concerned the costs of an interlocutory application and the remitter of proceedings following an appeal. The matter came before the Court of Appeal of New South Wales, comprising Bathurst CJ, Beazley P, and Meagher JA.

The primary legal issues before the court were whether costs ordered in relation to an interlocutory application should be payable forthwith, and whether it was appropriate to order the remitter of proceedings to a differently constituted court after a determination of separate questions. The court also considered amendments to existing orders regarding the identification of parties and the constitution of the court for further proceedings.

The Court of Appeal applied Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005 (NSW) r 42.7, which generally dictates that costs of interlocutory applications are not payable until the conclusion of proceedings, but allows for exceptions where circumstances warrant immediate payment. The court also considered the principles governing remitter under r 28.2, particularly in the context of appeals from separate questions.

The court made several orders, including amending previous orders to correctly identify the first respondent, ordering that the costs awarded to the appellants in the appeal and the court below be payable forthwith, and varying an order to ensure the remitted proceedings were heard by a judge other than Sackar J. Additionally, the first respondent was ordered to pay the appellants’ costs of the motion, also payable forthwith.