Timms v Commonwealth Bank of Australia (No 3)

The applicant, Timms, sought to recover interest on costs awarded to him in previous proceedings against the Commonwealth Bank of Australia. The application was heard by Beazley JA in the Court of Appeal of New South Wales.

The central legal issue before the court was whether an application for interest on costs could be made and determined after a final judgment for those costs had already been entered. The applicant contended that he was entitled to interest on the costs awarded to him, while the respondent bank argued that such a claim was not an independent cause of action and had to be determined prior to the entry of judgment.

Beazley JA reasoned that a claim for interest on costs is not an independent cause of action but rather an ancillary matter that must be addressed and determined before or at the time of the entry of judgment for the costs themselves. The court applied the principle that once a final judgment for costs has been entered, it cannot be subsequently set aside or amended to include a claim for interest, as this would effectively reopen the concluded judgment.

Consequently, the motion brought by Timms was dismissed, and he was ordered to pay the costs of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia.