| Restrictions | OK |
|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | Employment Relations Authority - Christchurch |
| Reference No | CA 142/08 |
| Determination date | 23 September 2008 |
| Member | J Crichton |
| Representation | MJ Thomas ; B Dorking |
| Location | Christchurch |
| Parties | Ka'ai and Ors v Vice Chancellor of the University of Otago |
| Other Parties | Moorfield, Smith |
| Summary | COSTS - Multiple personal grievance claims withdrawn prior to investigation meeting - Respondent put to cost by extensive preparation in respect of scheduled two weeks set aside for Authority investigation meeting, which was withdrawn immediately prior to investigation meeting commencing - Respondent claimed $39,000 as contribution to total costs of $42,000 - Authority found respondent on 'balance of probabilities' was entitled to contribution to costs as was put to significant cost defending three claims brought by applicants - Authority also found some of costs incurred by respondent attributable to unnecessary complexity of claims - Both parties suggested tariff based approach but Authority decided against this as no actual investigation meeting took place so no way of knowing how long actual investigation would have taken - Best approach to use premise respondent put to costs of $42,000 and decide what percentage ought be contributed by applicants - Authority found appropriate contribution to respondent's costs would be $15,000 to be paid by applicants jointly or severally |
| Result | Costs in favour of respondent ($15,000) |
| Main Category | Costs |
| Statutes | ERA Second Schedule cl15 |
| Cases Cited | Kora v Weymouth Intermediate School unreported, A Dumbleton, 30 Nov 2007 (AA 376/07);PBO Ltd (formerly Rush Security Ltd) v Da Cruz [2005] 1 ERNZ 808 |
| Number of Pages | 6 |
| PDF File Link: | ca 142_08.pdf [pdf 24 KB] |