U'Brien v Kassouf

In *U'Brien v Kassouf*, the New South Wales Court of Appeal considered an appeal concerning costs following a settlement. The dispute between the parties had been resolved prior to the appeal hearing.

The central legal issue before the Court of Appeal was whether the appellant should be ordered to pay the respondent's costs of the appeal, despite the settlement. The appellant argued that there were no special circumstances to warrant such an order, particularly as the settlement was reached without any admission of liability or determination of principle.

The Court of Appeal upheld the appeal. The reasoning applied was that in the absence of any specific agreement between the parties regarding costs upon settlement, the general rule that costs follow the event should apply. However, given that the appeal was settled and no substantive legal principle was determined, the Court found that it was appropriate to depart from the usual order.

Consequently, the Court ordered that each party bear their own costs of the appeal.