Following a family law trial concerning the validity of a separation agreement and associated financial obligations, the court addressed costs after the parties were unable to agree.
The applicant had succeeded on the primary issue of the agreement’s validity and was overall more successful on the related monetary issues, although there was mixed success on collateral matters and some issues were settled during the trial.
The court held that the applicant was entitled to costs but declined to award substantial indemnity costs.
Considering proportionality, the parties’ conduct, and the factors under Rule 24(11) of the Family Law Rules, the court fixed partial indemnity costs in a lump sum.
