Secure Parking Pty Ltd v Woollahra Municipal Council (No 2)

In *Secure Parking Pty Ltd v Woollahra Municipal Council (No 2)*, the New South Wales Court of Appeal considered applications by the successful appellant for interest on costs awarded at first instance and on appeal, and for interest on a judgment amount that had been paid and subsequently repaid. The primary judge had made an order for interest on costs at first instance in favour of the respondent, which was not opposed at the time. The appellant sought to vary this order and obtain interest on its own costs of the appeal.

The court was required to determine whether to award interest on the costs of the proceedings at first instance and on appeal, and if so, at what rate and from what date. Additionally, the court had to decide whether the appellant was entitled to interest on a sum paid in satisfaction of the first instance judgment, which was later reversed on appeal, and whether such interest should be calculated at a pre-judgment or post-judgment rate under the *Civil Procedure Act 2005* (NSW).

The Court of Appeal varied the original costs order to reflect the appellant's success, ordering the respondent to pay the appellant's costs of the proceedings at first instance on an ordinary basis up to a specified date and on an indemnity basis thereafter. The court also ordered the respondent to pay the appellant interest on these costs, as well as on the costs of the appeal, at specified rates that varied over time, calculated from the date of payment of those costs until they were paid by the respondent. Regarding the repaid judgment amount, the court determined that the claim for interest was, in substance, a claim for pre-judgment interest on an amount sought by way of restitution, and therefore awarded interest at the pre-judgment rate provided by section 101 of the *Civil Procedure Act 2005* (NSW).