Withyman (by his tutor Glenda Ruth Withyman) v State of New South Wales and Blackburn; Blackburn v Withyman (by his tutor Glenda Ruth Withyman) (No 2)

This matter concerned applications to amend or vary orders made by the Court of Appeal of New South Wales on 11 February 2013, following an appeal and cross-appeal. The primary parties involved were Mr Withyman (the appellant in the cross-appeal and respondent in the appeal), the State of New South Wales (the respondent in the cross-appeal and appellant in the appeal), and Ms Blackburn (an appellant in the appeal). The applications sought to alter the costs orders previously made by the Court.

The central legal issues before the Court were whether to amend the existing costs orders to reflect a different apportionment of costs between the parties, and whether to vary the basis on which costs were to be paid, specifically from an ordinary basis to an indemnity basis for a portion of the proceedings. The applications also raised questions about the costs of the applications themselves.

The Court considered the applications to amend and vary the costs orders. In relation to Ms Blackburn's motion, the Court ordered that the State of New South Wales pay one-third of Ms Blackburn's costs of the appeal and the costs of her motion. In relation to the State of New South Wales' motion, the Court varied the original order to dismiss Mr Withyman's appeal with costs, ordering that Mr Withyman pay the State's costs on an ordinary basis up to 28 July 2011, and on an indemnity basis thereafter, as well as the costs of the State's motion. Finally, in relation to Mr Withyman's motion, the Court ordered that the State of New South Wales pay Mr Withyman's costs of the application for leave to appeal and the costs of his motion.