United Resource Management Pty Ltd v Par Recycling Services Pty Ltd (No 2)

In the proceedings before the Court of Appeal of New South Wales, United Resource Management Pty Ltd (URM), URME, and Mr Johnston (the appellants) sought orders concerning the costs of both the first instance proceedings and the appeal. The dispute involved Par Recycling Services Pty Ltd (Par) as the respondent.

The primary legal issue before the Court of Appeal was the appropriate allocation of costs for both the initial proceedings and the subsequent appeal and cross-appeal. This involved determining whether any party should be ordered to pay the costs of the other parties, and to what extent.

The Court of Appeal determined that no order should be made as to the costs of the proceedings at first instance, meaning each party was to bear their own costs for that stage. Regarding the appeal, the Court ordered that Par pay 50% of the appellants’ costs. However, no order was made concerning the costs of the cross-appeal.