X Pty Ltd and Ors and Merhi (No 2)

In X Pty Ltd and Ors and Merhi (No 2), McClelland J of the Family Court of Australia considered an application by the respondent wife for costs and expenses incurred by various companies in complying with subpoenas, as well as the costs of the proceedings themselves. The applicant companies sought to recover their expenses and costs from the respondent wife.

The primary legal issues before the court were the extent to which the respondent wife should be ordered to pay the reasonable expenses incurred by certain companies in responding to subpoenas, and the basis upon which the respondent wife should contribute to the costs of other applicant companies in the proceedings. The court also had to determine the period from which these costs should be calculated and the method of assessment.

McClelland J reasoned that the respondent wife should be responsible for the reasonable expenses of the companies that complied with her subpoenas, defining these expenses to include labour costs, a 20 per cent loading on labour costs, and photocopy expenses. Furthermore, the court ordered the respondent wife to pay one-twelfth of the collective costs incurred by specific applicant companies in the proceedings, as well as any costs incurred exclusively by each of those companies for work exceeding that undertaken collectively. These costs were to be calculated from 13 March 2015, the date of filing the Application for Review, and assessed on a party/party basis. The respondent wife's application for costs against the applicant companies was dismissed, and the issue of costs between the husband and respondent wife was reserved for the final hearing. The court also certified that the applicant companies had reasonably engaged senior counsel.