The Owners of Strata Plan No 3397 v Tate (No 2)

The Owners of Strata Plan No 3397 (the applicant) brought a motion before the Court of Appeal of New South Wales seeking to vary a costs order previously made in favour of Mr Tate (the respondent). The original costs order had been made following a judgment where an arithmetical error in the primary judge's calculations was subsequently corrected.

The central legal issue before the Court of Appeal was whether the correction of an arithmetical error in the substantive judgment warranted a variation of the associated costs order. The applicant contended that the correction fundamentally altered the basis upon which the costs order had been made, thereby justifying its reconsideration.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the motion. It reasoned that the correction of an arithmetical error did not alter the substantive outcome of the original decision, but merely rectified a mistake in its expression. Consequently, the basis for the costs order remained unchanged, and there was no legal justification to disturb the original order. The Court confirmed that where an arithmetical error is corrected, the costs order stands unless the correction itself alters the substantive outcome of the litigation.

The motion was dismissed.