Refina Pty Ltd v Binnie (Costs)

Refina Pty Ltd sought costs from Binnie in the Supreme Court of Victoria. Refina had been the successful party in a proceeding where Binnie had failed to pay an invoice. Refina claimed indemnity costs on the basis that the proceedings were doomed to fail from the outset and that Binnie had unreasonably rejected a Calderbank offer. Binnie argued that the proceedings were not obviously hopeless at the outset and that the rejection of the Calderbank offer was not unreasonable.

The court considered the criteria for awarding indemnity costs, focusing on whether the proceedings were obviously or manifestly hopeless at the outset. The court found that the proceedings were not obviously hopeless at the outset, as there was a genuine dispute over the invoice amount and the likelihood of success was not negligible. The court also considered whether Binnie unreasonably rejected the Calderbank offer. Given the quantum of the dispute and the minimal compromise element in the offer, the court concluded that the rejection did not warrant an indemnity order.

In light of the above, the court dismissed Refina's claim for indemnity costs. The court noted that while the proceedings were ultimately successful for Refina, there was no basis to find that they were obviously hopeless at the outset or that the rejection of the Calderbank offer was unreasonable. The court made no order for costs.