Pickering and Pickering (No 2)

In *Pickering and Pickering (No 2)*, Strickland J of the Family Court of Australia considered applications for costs following earlier proceedings between the husband and wife concerning property settlement. The dispute revolved around the appropriate allocation of costs, particularly in light of the husband's amended application and the wife's amended response filed in early 2008.

The primary legal issue before the court was the extent to which each party should bear the costs of the property settlement proceedings. This involved determining whether the conduct of the parties, particularly in relation to the amended applications, warranted a departure from the usual order that costs follow the event. The court also had to consider several applications for costs made by the wife in late 2009 and mid-2010.

Strickland J reasoned that the husband should bear a significant portion of the wife's costs due to the nature of his amended application and the subsequent proceedings. The court ordered the husband to pay the wife $28,200 in costs within four months. Furthermore, the husband was ordered to pay the wife's solicitor's costs specifically related to the trial concerning the amended applications for final orders filed by both parties in early 2008, limited to the issue of property settlement, to be taxed if not agreed. The court dismissed the wife's multiple applications for costs filed between November 2009 and June 2010.