Restrictions OK
Jurisdiction Employment Relations Authority - Auckland
Reference No AA 348/10
Determination date 04 August 2010
Member A Dumbleton
Location Auckland
Parties Peleti v KME Ltd
Summary COSTS - Unsuccessful personal grievance - Three day investigation meeting - Respondent sought full costs of $14,580 - Authority found some of costs claimed related to mediation - Found not appropriate case for indemnity costs - Found award of full costs would amount to punishment given applicant’s personal circumstances and would have effect of imposing considerable restraint on right of access of employees to personal grievance remedy - Found applicant took combative, confrontational, and overly litigious approach to matter - Found applicant filed application in Authority before raising grievance with respondent - Found respondent made reasonable attempts to resolve claim including Calderbank offer - Found appropriate to take those factors into account in assessing reasonable contribution to costs - Found $7,500 contribution to costs appropriate - Found award closer to $9,000 would have been justified but for applicant’s circumstances - Applicant to pay applicant $7,500 contribution to costs
Result Costs in favour of respondent ($7,500)
Main Category Costs
Statutes ERA Second Schedule cl15
Cases Cited Graham v Airways Corporation of New Zealand Ltd unreported, A Dumbleton, 28 Jan 2004, AA 39/04;PBO Ltd (formerly Rush Security Ltd) v Da Cruz [2005] 1 ERNZ 808;Peleti v KME Ltd unreported, A Dumbleton, 5 Oct 2009, AA 350/09
Number of Pages 3
PDF File Link: aa 348_10.pdf [pdf 16 KB]