South Sydney Council v Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust (No 2)

South Sydney Council and the Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust were parties to proceedings before the Court of Appeal of New South Wales. The dispute concerned the costs of earlier proceedings, including a trial and an appeal, which had been determined by Hodgson J. The Court of Appeal was asked to review and vary the orders made by the trial judge concerning the allocation of costs.

The primary legal issue before the Court of Appeal was the appropriate distribution of costs between the Council and the Trust, given the outcome of the substantive proceedings and the appeal. This involved considering whether the trial judge's cost orders accurately reflected the relative success of the parties and the overall conduct of the litigation.

The Court of Appeal varied the costs orders previously made. It set aside the majority of Hodgson J's cost orders, with the exception of an order concerning the costs of a specific notice of motion. The Court then ordered that the Trust pay 50% of the Council's costs of the trial, excluding certain specific costs related to a vacated hearing date and the aforementioned notice of motion. Furthermore, the Trust was ordered to pay 75% of the Council's costs of the appeal.