This endorsement addresses the costs of a relocation trial where the mother (respondent) was successful in obtaining an order to relocate the child to Australia for three years.
The mother sought full indemnity costs of $36,859.84, while the father (applicant) sought an order for each party to bear their own costs.
The court awarded the mother $12,500 in costs, net of a prior $1,000 order.
The decision considered the mother's partial success, her offers to settle (one of which was reasonable but made too late, another deviated significantly from her trial position), the father's unreasonable litigation conduct, the inherent difficulty in settling relocation cases, and the father's precarious financial circumstances.
Payment of costs was deferred until the final resolution of other outstanding issues and estate litigation.
