Anderson v DeMarco

The case of Anderson v DeMarco was heard in the High Court of New Zealand, Wellington Registry, where Norman Hugh Anderson and Rebecca Alice Carrasco were the plaintiffs, and Eugene John DeMarco was the defendant. The dispute centered around an interlocutory application filed by DeMarco, which he largely did not succeed in. The matter involved a discussion of costs, particularly whether the plaintiffs were entitled to solicitor and client costs and if the court could revisit the costs awarded after the hearing.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether the plaintiffs were entitled to solicitor and client costs and whether the court could revisit the costs awarded after the hearing. The defendant argued that the court was functus officio and could not revisit the costs since there was no appeal from any aspect of the judgment. The plaintiffs, however, sought costs on a solicitor and client basis, believing that the opportunity to seek such costs was provided in the court’s earlier reasons.

The court acknowledged that the plaintiffs might have been led to believe they had an opportunity to seek above-scale costs due to a phrase in the earlier reasons. However, the court found that the defendant’s argument was correct; the court was indeed functus officio in relation to all matters disposed of, including costs, since no appeal had been lodged. The only area of contention was the certification for second counsel, which the court was prepared to certify due to the complexity of the interlocutory application. The plaintiffs were awarded costs amounting to $6,811.50, as detailed in the schedule attached to Parker & Associates’ letter of 20 March 2020.