Lighting Plus Limited v Massive NV Ca215/02

The Court of Appeal of New Zealand considered the case of Lighting Plus Limited and LFA (NZ) Limited, who were jointly appealing against the decision of Massive NV. The appeal was subsequently discontinued, prompting the respondent to seek costs due to the late notice of the discontinuance and the substantial costs incurred in preparation for the hearing. The appellants argued that they had only recently become aware of a clarification in foreign law that justified the withdrawal of the appeal.

The Court held that it was evident the respondent would have been preparing for the hearing, and the appellants could have avoided incurring these costs by providing earlier notice of the discontinuance. The Court awarded costs to the respondent, amounting to $3,000, acknowledging the late notice and the respondent's preparedness for the hearing. The discontinuance, occurring just over a week before the scheduled hearing, was deemed unreasonable given the respondent's evident efforts to prepare for the case.