Event and Time
Event Description
- Case: In the matter of Black Tie Holdings Pty Ltd [2022] NSWSC 781
- Date of principal judgment: 16 June 2022
- Subsequent applications for costs variation: June 2022
Application and Claims
- The plaintiff (company) applied to set aside a statutory demand served by the defendant on 31 January 2022. The application was dismissed.
- On 25 May 2022, the defendant made a Calderbank offer to settle which proposed that the statutory demand be set aside with each party bearing their own costs.
Judicial Decisions
- The court ordered indemnity costs after finding that the company unreasonably rejected the defendant’s Calderbank offer.
Dispute Points and Legal Basis
Dispute Points
- The defendant claimed:
- The offer on 25 May 2022 constituted a genuine compromise. - The rejection of this offer was unreasonable considering the risk to the company’s application due to procedural failures.
- The company contended:
- The Calderbank offer was not reasonable, especially given their own prior offer on 5 April 2022 with more favorable terms. - The substance of the statutory demand was defective, requiring a reevaluation of the costs awarded to the defendant.
- Evidence included:
- Affidavits addressing the validity of the service of the statutory demand and the responses to the offers exchanged.
- The legal basis included:
- Civil Procedure Act 2005 (NSW) provisions relating to costs awards. - The principle of costs following the event unless otherwise ordered (UCPR r 42.1).