Stojanovski v Stojanovski (No 4)

The case of Stojanovski v Stojanovski (No 4) involved a dispute where the second defendant sought costs orders against the bankrupt first defendant and, in the alternative, against the estate of the first defendant's deceased mother. The basis of the second defendant's claim was that property vested in the first defendant's trustees in bankruptcy should be treated as part of the estate. The second defendant filed a submitting appearance and had incurred costs related to an application for leave to apply for family provision relief out of time. However, she did not proceed with prosecuting the application for leave, and no other relief was sought by or against the second defendant.

The legal issues that the court was required to address included the circumstances under which the second defendant was entitled to seek costs, particularly given that she had not prosecuted her application for leave. The court considered whether the second defendant's decision not to proceed with the application or seek other relief impacted her entitlement to seek costs. Additionally, the court had to determine if the second defendant was justified in incurring costs related to seeking legal advice on the steps being taken by other parties in the proceedings.

In its reasoning, the court held that the second defendant was entitled to seek legal advice about the significance of the steps being taken by other parties in the proceedings, but this was to be at her own cost. The court found that since the second defendant had not prosecuted the application for leave, and no other relief had been sought or granted, she was not entitled to seek costs from the first defendant or his mother's estate. Consequently, the application for costs was dismissed.