| Restrictions | OK |
|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | Employment Relations Authority - Auckland |
| Reference No | AA 136A/06 |
| Determination date | 31 May 2006 |
| Member | A Dumbleton |
| Location | Auckland |
| Parties | Gauld v Bay of Plenty District Health Board |
| Summary | COSTS - Unsuccessful personal grievance - One day investigation meeting - Problem not overly complex legally and decision turned largely on facts to be established by Authority - Respondent sought contribution of $7,000 to total costs of over $20,000 - Applicant incurred costs of nearly $24,000 including mediation, disbursements and GST - Applicant submitted costs should be at the lower end of $1,000-$2,500 band - Award of greater than $2,500 justified in circumstances - Relevant factors included two Calderbank like offers made by respondent - Reasonable to assume that in rejecting last Calderbank offer applicant had appreciation of risk that claim would not be upheld - Applicant passed up good opportunity to salvage something from matter and avoid putting respondent to additional expense, equitably that should sound in amount of costs - Appropriate award $3,800 - Authority Member who investigated claim different from Member deciding costs |
| Result | Costs in favour of respondent ($3,800) |
| Statutes | ERA Second Schedule cl15;ERA Second Schedule cl16 |
| Cases Cited | PBO Ltd (formerly Rush Security Ltd) v Da Cruz [2005] 1 ERNZ 808 |
| Number of Pages | 2 |
| PDF File Link: | aa 136a_06.pdf [pdf 10 KB] |