Stoney and Stoney (No 2)

In *Stoney and Stoney (No 2)*, Cronin J of the Family Court of Australia considered applications for costs made by both the husband and the wife following earlier proceedings. The wife sought costs of a hearing before Bennett J on 3 December 2014 and also sought indemnity costs. The husband sought costs of a hearing on 22 January 2015.

The primary legal issues before Cronin J were whether the wife was entitled to the costs of the hearing before Bennett J, whether she was entitled to indemnity costs, and whether the husband was entitled to his costs of the hearing on 22 January 2015.

Cronin J dismissed the wife's application for the costs of the hearing before Bennett J, indicating that the circumstances did not warrant an order in her favour for that specific hearing. Similarly, the wife's application for indemnity costs was also dismissed, suggesting that the threshold for such an order, which typically requires egregious conduct or a clear case of unreasonableness, was not met. The court ordered that the husband pay the wife’s costs of the hearing on 22 January 2015, to be calculated according to the Family Law Rules 2004, either by agreement between the parties or, failing agreement, as assessed by the court.