Sino Iron Pty Ltd v Mineralogy Pty Ltd

Sino Iron Pty Ltd and Mineralogy Pty Ltd were involved in legal proceedings that included multiple applications and hearings in the Supreme Court of New South Wales. The dispute centred on the costs associated with certain applications that had not been substantively heard. The Court was required to determine whether special costs orders should be made under the Legal Profession Act 2008 and the Legal Practitioners (Supreme and District Courts) (Contentious Business) Determination 2020. This involved assessing whether the applications had unusual difficulty, complexity, or importance, and if the costs incurred warranted any special orders given that the applications were not determined on their merits.

The Court found that the applications were not determined on their merits and had not proceeded to a substantive hearing, which limited the capacity to make determinations regarding special costs orders. The Court reasoned that it could not determine hypothetical issues, and that the applications would not be considered until after another application was resolved. The Court concluded that it was not appropriate to remove the limits on costs generally, but noted that the complexity of certain matters raised in an outline of submissions warranted an exception. Specifically, the Court found that the costs associated with preparing these submissions were significant and connected to the issues raised by the other party. Therefore, the Court decided to remove the cost limits for these submissions and increase the rates for senior counsel by 50%.

The Court made an order that the costs for the preparation of the outline of submissions filed on 17 March 2021 be taxed without the limits set by the 2020 Determination and that the maximum rates for senior counsel be increased by 50%. This decision was made in CIV 2072 of 2017 and CIV 1267 of 2018.