Widjaja v Noto

Widjaja v Noto involved a dispute between co-owners over the costs of proceedings initiated under section 66G of the Conveyancing Act 1919 (NSW). The resolution of these proceedings resulted in consent orders, and the sale proceeds of the jointly owned property had already been distributed. The central issue was whether the court should make a costs order against one of the defendants, either under rule 42.1 of the Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005 (NSW) or due to what was considered unreasonable conduct.

The court carefully examined the circumstances leading to the consent orders and the distribution of the sale proceeds. It considered whether the first defendant's conduct warranted a costs order under rule 42.1, which applies to cases where a party unreasonably conducts the proceedings. The court found that the first defendant's conduct did not meet the threshold for such an order. Additionally, the court did not find the conduct unreasonable enough to justify an order for costs of the costs application. The court concluded that there should be no order as to the costs of the proceedings, including the costs of the costs application, as the overall circumstances did not support such an order.