The Owners Strata Plan No 89866 v Zouki (No 2)

In The Owners Strata Plan No 89866 v Zouki (No 2), the defendant, Mr Zouki, was sued by the plaintiff, the body corporate of a strata scheme, for the recovery of unpaid strata levies. The case was heard in the Supreme Court of New South Wales. The primary dispute centred on the calculation and payment of the unpaid levies, which Mr Zouki was obligated to pay as a strata owner. Additionally, the court examined whether costs should be awarded on an indemnity basis, considering the plaintiff's offers and the defendant's refusal to accept them.

The legal issues before the court included the proper calculation of the unpaid levies, the consequences of the defendant's refusal to accept the plaintiff's settlement offers, and whether the court should order costs on an indemnity basis. Specifically, the court needed to determine whether the defendant's refusal to accept the plaintiff's offers was unreasonable and whether the plaintiff was entitled to costs on an indemnity basis as a result.

In its decision, the court held that the defendant's refusal to accept the plaintiff's settlement offers was unreasonable. The court found that the offers were fair and the defendant had no valid reason to reject them. Consequently, the court ruled that the plaintiff was entitled to costs on an indemnity basis. The court noted that the defendant's conduct in refusing the offers without justification was a significant factor in its decision. The plaintiff's offers were deemed reasonable and in line with the court's expectations for settlement negotiations. The court concluded that the defendant's unreasonable refusal to accept these offers warranted the award of indemnity costs to the plaintiff.

The final orders of the court included an award of indemnity costs to the plaintiff, reflecting the unreasonableness of the defendant's conduct in refusing the settlement offers. The court's decision underscored the importance of reasonable settlement negotiations and the consequences of refusing fair offers without justification.