Devan Tamura

The respondent sought costs on a partial indemnity scale after successfully defending an application to wind up the company.

The applicant argued for no costs or reduced costs, citing the respondent's failure to upload a Bill of Costs in advance and claiming the fees were excessive.

The court found the respondent's claimed costs to be fair and reasonable, noting the application's importance and moderate complexity, and that the applicant's own costs were comparable.

The court fixed costs payable by the applicant to the respondent in the amount of $142,890.01.

The applicant, a co-founder and former CTO of the respondent technology company, brought an application to wind up the company under section 207 of the Business Corporations Act.

The applicant alleged the company could not continue its business due to its liabilities and that a breakdown in the relationship between the founders made it just and equitable to wind up the company.

The court dismissed the application, finding the company had recently raised significant capital and was not insolvent.

The court also held that while there was a breakdown of trust, the company was not a two-person partnership, and winding up was not a just and equitable remedy given the presence of other investors and employees.