Following a seven-day family law trial, both parties sought costs.
The court held that the respondent was not entitled to costs because he was unsuccessful at trial.
The applicant argued for near full recovery based on a prior settlement offer that was more favourable than the trial result, but the court found that a later, less generous offer implicitly withdrew the earlier offer.
As a result, the earlier offer did not trigger the cost consequences of rule 18(14) of the Family Law Rules, though it remained relevant to assessing costs.
Partial recovery costs at the higher end of the range were awarded due to the respondent’s conduct and the overall circumstances.
