| Restrictions | OK |
|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | Employment Relations Authority - Wellington |
| Reference No | WA 69A/07 |
| Hearing date | 22 May 2007 |
| Determination date | 24 May 2007 |
| Member | D Asher |
| Representation | R Buchanan ; J Gibbs |
| Location | Wellington |
| Parties | McGregor v Mobil Oil New Zealand Ltd |
| Summary | COSTS - Successful personal grievance - Less than one day investigation meeting - Applicant sought contribution to total costs of $16,613 - Submitted Authority should apply discretion to ensure applicant received benefit of $15,000 compensation award - Argued respondent had greater resources and did not act in good faith by abusing dominant financial position to try to force applicant to withdraw - Applicant alleged originally advised there would be no deals so no option but to pursue application - Details of without prejudice offer set out by applicant ignored because Authority did not accept confidentiality waived - Respondent submitted $1,000-$3,000 award appropriate - Did not rely on Calderbank offer - Claimed applicant complicated substantive proceedings and had not attempted to agree costs - During substantive investigation Authority reminded parties of need to ensure costs incurred reasonable - Employment relationship problem no different from many others and warranted similar costs award - No grounds for full costs - Problem should have settled at mediation - Applicant entitled to recover $3,000 costs |
| Result | Costs in favour of applicant ($3,000) |
| Main Category | Costs |
| Statutes | ERA s3(a)(ii) |
| Cases Cited | Binnie v Pacific Health Ltd [2002] 1 ERNZ 438;McGregor v Mobil Oil New Zealand Ltd unreported, D Asher, 2 May 2007, WA 69/07;PBO Ltd(formerly Rush Security Ltd) v Da Cruz [2005] 1 ERNZ 808 |
| Number of Pages | 5 |
| PDF File Link: | wa 69a_07.pdf [pdf 21 KB] |