Rhodium Australia Pty Ltd v STATEWAY Pty Ltd

The plaintiff, Rhodium Australia, sought to recover a debt from the defendant, Stateway, by issuing a statutory demand. The defendant did not respond to the demand, and the plaintiff obtained a default judgment. The defendant subsequently applied to set aside the statutory demand and the default judgment. The plaintiff conceded the application, and the court set aside both the demand and the judgment. The defendant then applied for costs on an indemnity basis, claiming that the plaintiff's actions were vexatious and oppressive. The plaintiff opposed the application on the basis that it had not acted unreasonably in pursuing the statutory demand.

The court had to decide whether the plaintiff's conduct in pursuing the statutory demand was unreasonable and whether the defendant was entitled to costs on an indemnity basis. The court noted that the plaintiff's conduct in pursuing the statutory demand was not unreasonable, as it was a legitimate means of recovering a debt. However, the court found that the plaintiff's decision to concede the application to set aside the demand and judgment was unreasonable, as it had not provided any justification for its conduct. The court held that the defendant was entitled to costs on an indemnity basis for the application to set aside the demand and judgment, but not for the original statutory demand.

The court held that the plaintiff's conduct in pursuing the statutory demand was not unreasonable, as it was a legitimate means of recovering a debt. However, the court found that the plaintiff's decision to concede the application to set aside the demand and judgment was unreasonable, as it had not provided any justification for its conduct. The court held that the defendant was entitled to costs on an indemnity basis for the application to set aside the demand and judgment, but not for the original statutory demand. The court did not make any order as to costs, as the parties had not provided any detailed information on the amount of costs incurred.