Serrao (by his tutor Serrao) v Cornelius (No 3)

The appeal concerned the costs of proceedings in the New South Wales Court of Appeal. The parties were Serrao (by his tutor Serrao) as the appellant and Cornelius as the respondent. The dispute revolved around whether the usual order that costs follow the event should be departed from, given the mixed success of the parties on appeal and cross-appeal.

The Court of Appeal was required to determine the appropriate orders for the costs of both the proceedings before the primary judge and the appeal and cross-appeal. Specifically, the court had to consider whether the fact that the respondent succeeded on the cross-appeal and the appellant succeeded on one ground of their amended notice of appeal warranted a departure from the general rule regarding costs.

The Court of Appeal ordered that there be no orders as to the costs of the proceedings before the primary judge, meaning each party was to bear their own costs. Similarly, there were to be no orders as to the costs of the appeal and cross-appeal, with each party bearing their own costs for those proceedings. This decision reflects a departure from the usual costs order, likely due to the complex and mixed nature of the outcomes of the litigation. The court also made consequential orders regarding the judgment for the plaintiff and the dismissal of other aspects of the proceedings.