The Owners - Strata Plan 76841 v Ceerose Pty Ltd (No 2)

The Owners - Strata Plan 76841, the plaintiff, sought leave to amend their pleadings against Ceerose Pty Ltd, the defendant, in a proceeding concerning a strata dispute. The plaintiff had already been granted leave to amend once before, and this was the second such application. The case was heard in the Supreme Court of Victoria. The defendants argued against the plaintiff's application, asserting that the amendment would cause substantial delay and prejudice to the proceedings. The plaintiff, in turn, argued that the amendment was necessary to address issues of fairness and justice in the proceedings.

The court had to determine whether the plaintiff's application for leave to amend should be granted, and if so, what the appropriate costs order should be. The court also needed to consider the defendants' argument that the plaintiff's acceptance of the need for a costs order to be made in their favour should not preclude the defendants from having their costs assessed immediately. The defendants argued that the practical effect of permitting the assessment of costs forthwith should be considered.

The court held that the plaintiff's application for leave to amend should be dismissed, and that the defendants were substantially successful. The court also held that the defendants should be permitted to have their costs assessed immediately, as the practical effect of permitting the assessment of costs forthwith was not sufficient to outweigh the defendants' substantial success. The court ordered that the defendants' costs be assessed forthwith, but noted that the plaintiff's acceptance of the need for a costs order to be made in the defendants' favour should be taken into account when determining the amount of costs to be awarded. The court also noted that the defendants' costs could be reduced if they were found to have acted unreasonably in resisting the plaintiff's application for leave to amend.