Ryde Developments Pty Ltd v The Property Investors Alliance Pty Ltd (No 2)

Ryde Developments Pty Ltd (the appellant) and The Property Investors Alliance Pty Ltd (the respondent) were parties to an appeal before the Court of Appeal of New South Wales. The dispute concerned the allocation of costs following a trial and an appeal, where both parties had achieved some success and some failure.

The primary legal issues before the Court of Appeal were whether to deprive the successful appellant of a portion of its costs of the appeal, and how to re-exercise the discretion regarding the costs of the trial. These issues arose because the appellant was unsuccessful on a significant and separable part of the appeal, and the respondent was unsuccessful on a significant and separable part of the trial.

The Court of Appeal reasoned that where a successful party has been unsuccessful on a substantial and distinct part of the proceedings, it is appropriate to depart from the usual rule that costs follow the event. In this instance, the Court found that the matters upon which the appellant failed in the appeal were significant and separable, justifying a reduction in its awarded costs. Similarly, the respondent's failures at trial warranted a reduction in the costs it could recover from the appellant.

Consequently, the Court ordered that the respondent pay 30 per cent of the appellant’s costs of the appeal. Furthermore, the appellant was ordered to pay 75 per cent of the respondent’s costs relating to the Amended Summons and the Amended First Cross-Summons.