Kapiarumala v Lowe
[2018] NZHC 1120
•18 May 2018
IN THE HIGH COURT OF NEW ZEALAND AUCKLAND REGISTRY
I TE KŌTI MATUA O AOTEAROA TĀMAKI MAKAURAU ROHE
CIV-2017-419-187
[2018] NZHC 1120
BETWEEN ALEX KAPIARUMALA
Plaintiff
AND
STEPHEN LOWE
First Defendant
MARK FIELD
Second Defendant
Hearing: On the papers Appearances:
Plaintiff in person
B T Cullen for Defendants
Judgment:
18 May 2018
JUDGMENT OF LANG J
[on costs]
This judgment was delivered by me on 18 May 2018 at 3.30 pm, pursuant to Rule 11.5 of the High Court Rules.
Registrar/Deputy Registrar Date……………
KAPIARUMALA v LOWE [2018] NZHC 1120 [18 May 2018]
[1] The plaintiff has now discontinued his claim in defamation against the defendants. The only remaining issue is that of costs.
[2] Costs on a discontinuance are governed by r 15.23 of the High Court Rules 2016 which provides as follows:
15.23 Costs
Unless the defendant otherwise agrees or the court otherwise orders, a plaintiff who discontinues a proceeding against a defendant must pay costs to the defendant of and incidental to the proceeding up to and including the discontinuance.
[3] The plaintiff has submitted a lengthy letter in opposition to costs. Counsel for the defendants has filed a memorandum in response. In doing so the plaintiff appears to be attempting to relitigate matters that have already been determined by other tribunals. It may be appropriate to engage in a limited examination of the merits in some cases. An example would be where the plaintiff argues that the proceeding has achieved its desired object. In the present case, however, the plaintiff has discontinued the proceeding during the interlocutory phase. There is no reason why r 15.23 should not be applied.
[4] The defendants have been represented throughout by the same counsel. I therefore direct that the plaintiff must pay the defendants a single award of costs calculated on a Category 2B basis together with disbursements as fixed by the Registrar.
Lang J
Solicitors:
McCaw Lewis, Hamilton Copy to Plaintiff
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