Stasiuk & Guild

The appeal in Stasiuk & Guild was between the parties to a family law matter, with the focus on the costs awarded on an indemnity basis. The matter was heard by the Family Court of Australia. The primary issue before the court was whether the case was "exceptional" enough to justify awarding costs on an indemnity basis, a principle that had been previously established in Kohan and Kohan (1993) FLC 92-340. The court was also tasked with examining the application of the doctrine of precedent in the context of family law cost decisions.

The court found that the primary judge had erred by rejecting the Kohan principle and instead applying a wrong principle. This error was significant enough to warrant setting aside the orders made by the primary judge. Both parties requested that the court re-exercise the discretion on the available material. The court agreed to do so to avoid further legal costs, and decided to delay judgment to allow the parties to negotiate a possible resolution to their dispute. The court noted that if the parties reached a resolution, they could present consent orders to finalise the outstanding issues. If no resolution was reached, judgment would be given on a specified date.

The court allowed the appeal, set aside the orders made by the primary judge, and directed that if the parties finalised the appeal by consent, the proposed orders be filed by a certain date. If no resolution was reached, judgment would be given on a later date. The form of the order was subject to review and possible variation in accordance with the Family Law Rules 2004 (Cth). The judgment was approved for publication under a pseudonym by the Chief Justice in accordance with the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth).