Vella and Buchanan & Ors (Costs)

In *Vella and Buchanan & Ors (Costs)*, Murphy J of the Family Court of Australia considered an application by the wife for an order discharging her liability under a loan with the second respondent bank. This application was dismissed, and adverse findings were made regarding the wife's credit. All respondents sought orders for costs against the wife, while the wife sought either no order for costs or that costs be reserved to trial.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether any order for costs should be made pursuant to section 117 of the *Family Law Act 1975* (Cth). This encompassed the wife's unsuccessful substantive application to discharge her loan liability and her separate application for the second respondent to pay her costs of an earlier interlocutory injunction, which had been granted but formed part of the ultimately unsuccessful substantive proceeding.

Murphy J reasoned that the wife was wholly unsuccessful in her substantive application against the second respondent. Consequently, the court ordered that the costs of the wife, the husband, and the third and fourth respondents be reserved to the trial of the action. However, the wife was ordered to pay the second respondent's costs of and incidental to the application, either by agreement or assessment on a party and party basis. The wife's application for the second respondent to pay her costs of the interlocutory injunction was dismissed.