| Restrictions | OK |
|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | Employment Relations Authority - Christchurch |
| Reference No | CA 112A/10 |
| Determination date | 17 December 2010 |
| Member | J Crichton |
| Representation | D Pine ; P McBride |
| Location | Christchurch |
| Parties | Clark v Idea Services Ltd |
| Summary | COSTS - Unsuccessful personal grievance - Two day investigation meeting - Respondent sought $16,000 contribution to costs plus disbursements and witness expenses of $3,993 - Applicant submitted costs award of $5,000 with disbursements of $800 more appropriate - Authority found, on general principles, as successful party respondent entitled to contribution to costs - Found costs award should generally be modest - Authority found three issues to consider in determining level of costs award, being extensive disbursements claimed by respondent, applicant’s behaviour in managing claim and any impact on respondent, and applicant’s ability to pay - Found significant portion of disbursements costs was function of respondent’s counsel’s base in Wellington and where investigation meeting held in Invercargill - Found was line of authority making clear travel and other ancillary costs associated with counsel’s remoteness from district not necessarily recoverable in employment jurisdiction - Found balanced against that fact respondent national entity and principle parties should be free to choose own counsel - However, found would be unfair and inappropriate to order reimbursement of all disbursements - Found inappropriate work of briefing witnesses and other costs associated with that prior to investigation meeting not dealt with by local agent or telephone conference or video link - Also not appropriate for respondent to recover costs of brining witnesses to Invercargill - Found award of $800 disbursements appropriate - Respondent claimed costs materially affected by way applicant conducted himself, particularly delays in obtaining his evidence and failure to conform to timetables - Claimed Authority had made it clear continuing delays would sound in costs - Authority found while not persuaded Member conducting investigation as determinative about costs as respondent claimed appropriate to factor some increase in costs incurred as consequence of applicant’s frequent change of position - Found applicant’s submissions about ability to pay also to be taken into account - Found daily tariff of $3,500 appropriate starting point – Found increase in costs caused by applicant’s behaviour reasonably balanced by applicant’s ability to pay - Found $7,000 contribution to costs appropriate |
| Result | Costs in favour of respondent ($7,000) ; Disbursements in favour of respondent ($800) |
| Main Category | Costs |
| 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 |
| Number of Pages | 6 |
| PDF File Link: | ca 112a_10.pdf [pdf 24 KB] |