Vowles v Osgood (No 2)

The case of Vowles v Osgood (No 2) involved the second defendant applying for costs incurred from an ex parte application. The original dispute was between the plaintiff and the first defendant, with the second defendant later joining the proceedings. The matter was heard in the Supreme Court of New South Wales. The court was tasked with determining the appropriate costs for the ex parte application and the overall proceedings. The second defendant argued that they should be awarded costs from the ex parte application due to the plaintiff's failure to provide adequate information.

The court considered the general principles of awarding costs in legal proceedings, focusing on the circumstances surrounding the ex parte application. It was crucial to determine whether the application was necessary and whether the plaintiff acted unreasonably in failing to provide the required information. The court also assessed the overall conduct of the parties in the proceedings to decide on the standard basis for awarding costs. Given the second defendant's application for costs from the ex parte application and the plaintiff's successful opposition, the court had to balance these factors.

The court ruled that the judgment should be amended to reflect a corrected amount, dismissing the second defendant's application for costs from the ex parte application. Instead, the court ordered the second defendant to pay the plaintiff's costs on the District Court scale on the standard basis. This decision was based on the overall conduct of the parties and the necessity of the ex parte application. The court emphasised that the plaintiff's failure to provide the requested information did not warrant costs from the ex parte application, as the application was deemed necessary under the circumstances.

The final orders included an amendment to the judgment to correct the amount, an order for the second defendant to pay the plaintiff's costs on the District Court scale on the standard basis, and a dismissal of the second defendant's application for costs from the ex parte application.