Roads and Traffic Authority of NSW v Palmer (No 2)

The Roads and Traffic Authority of NSW (the Authority) was the defendant in proceedings brought by Palmer (the plaintiff). Palmer sought a *Bullock* order, which would have required the Authority to pay Palmer's costs of the proceedings, even though Palmer had been unsuccessful and the Authority had been awarded costs. The application was made after judgment had been entered and costs orders had been made. The case was heard in the Court of Appeal of New South Wales.

The central legal issue before the Court of Appeal was whether it had the power to vary the existing costs orders by making a *Bullock* order, particularly after the costs orders had been entered. This involved considering the scope of the court's power to amend its own orders, including the application of the "slip rule" and whether the circumstances warranted the imposition of additional costs on the unsuccessful defendants.

The Court of Appeal held that it did not have the power to make a *Bullock* order in these circumstances. The court reasoned that the power to vary or set aside orders was limited, and the slip rule, which allows for the correction of clerical mistakes or errors arising from an accidental slip or omission, did not extend to fundamentally altering the substance of a costs order already made and entered. Furthermore, the court found that there was no conduct on the part of the Authority that would make it fair to impose the additional costs on them, a necessary prerequisite for making a *Bullock* order.

Consequently, the plaintiff's application for a *Bullock* order was dismissed. The court directed that the plaintiff's solicitors take steps to substitute the plaintiff's legal personal representative as a party to the proceedings. Subject to this substitution, the plaintiff was granted leave to amend the notice of motion to the form attached to the written submissions, and the amended notice of motion was then dismissed with costs.