Read the full judgment text of CACV 45/2009 on BabelCite. This Court of Appeal judgment was delivered on 5 February 2010 before Cheung JA, Stone J, Lunn J.
Civil procedure – costs – variation of costs order – refusal to mediate – Practice Direction on Pilot Scheme for Building Management Cases – Deed of Mutual Covenant – building management dispute. The Court of Appeal allowed the applicant's appeal concerning the interpretation of a Deed of Mutual Covenant and ordered costs of the appeal and below against the respondent on a provisional basis. The respondent applied to vary the costs order, arguing that each party should bear its own costs because the applicant had unreasonably refused to participate in mediation directed by the Tribunal. The Court of Appeal considered the Practice Direction on Pilot Scheme for Building Management Cases, which encourages mediation and treats unreasonable failure to mediate as a costs factor, but provides that a party with a reasonable explanation for non-participation shall not suffer an adverse costs order. The court held that the case ultimately involved a point of law on DMC interpretation and the applicant had a responsibility to apply the DMC correctly, and that the applicant's earlier settlement offer immediately before the hearing below, which the respondent's counsel had rejected, further weakened the respondent's complaint. The application to vary was refused and the provisional costs order was maintained. Application dismissed.
Legal issues: Whether costs order should be varied for applicant's refusal to mediate
Outcome: Application to vary costs order refused; provisional costs order maintained in favour of the applicant against the respondent.
Cited by 14 cases