Sax v Simpson

In the High Court of New Zealand, the case of Sax v Simpson involves an application for costs by Luke Andrew Simpson against Janine Sax. The dispute originated from a security for costs order made by Judge Geoghan in relation to the judicial review of a dissolution order made by the court. The initial judgment was delivered on 30 June 2015, where the applicant, Janine Sax, was successful in having a security for costs order set aside. However, this did not include the judicial review of the dissolution order. Simpson subsequently applied for recall of the initial judgment, which was refused. Now, Simpson seeks costs for the recall application, which was opposed by Sax.

The legal issues that the court had to determine were whether Simpson was entitled to costs for the preparatory work done by his counsel, Mr Eggleston, and whether the court should recognise Mr Eggleston as Simpson's representative. The court needed to decide whether Simpson was entitled to costs for his self-representation and if the assistance provided by his counsel could be considered as a basis for awarding costs. The court also had to consider whether the recall application had any merit and if the principles of awarding costs to self-represented parties applied.

The court found that there was no merit in the recall application and that the principles of awarding costs to self-represented parties applied. The court held that Simpson did not fall within the exception to the general rule against costs awards for self-represented persons. The court also held that Mr Eggleston did not provide sufficient basis to be recognised as Simpson's representative. The court noted that the time allocation for preparation of submissions was 1.5 days, but in the present circumstances, a time allocation of 0.75 days would be fair. However, the court declined to exercise its discretion to award costs in the present circumstances.

The court dismissed Simpson's application for costs, and the final order was that the application by Simpson for costs is dismissed.