| Restrictions | OK |
|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | Employment Relations Authority - Auckland |
| Reference No | [2011] NZERA Auckland 324 |
| Determination date | 22 July 2011 |
| Member | A Dumbleton |
| Location | Auckland |
| Parties | Faulkner v Secretary for Justice |
| Summary | COSTS – Successful personal grievance – Two day investigation meeting - Authority noted no possibility of reconciling parties’ views as to how costs should reasonably be apportioned - Applicant sought $42,000 contribution towards $56,689 total costs – Respondent claimed maximum of $5,175 could be awarded to applicant – Respondent made Calderbank offer of $15,000 and applicant made Calderbank offers of $41,534 and $36,534 before investigation meeting – Respondent claimed applicant’s offers included significant compensation and more than compensation awarded by Authority – Applicant claimed four day investigation meeting when calculating costs more accurate, although only two days, as significant preparation required – Applicant submitted rate $8,000 daily tariff should be used to reflect nature of investigation and respondent’s conduct and further $10,000 should be added as respondent rejected applicant’s reasonable offers – Respondent submitted $2,500 daily rate appropriate and two-fifths should be deducted from total to reflect applicant’s remedy claims partially unsuccessful – Found nothing about dispute justified departure from usual daily rate approach but significant increase required to take into account applicant’s reasonable offers to settle as applicant awarded $7,000 more than second offer – Found $7,500 daily rate appropriate – Respondent to pay applicant $15,000 contribution towards costs |
| Result | Costs in favour of applicant ($15,000) ; Disbursements in favour of applicant ($2,062) |
| Main Category | Costs |
| Statutes | Employment Contracts Act 1991;ERA Second Schedule cl15;ERA Second Schedule cl16 |
| Cases Cited | PBO Ltd (formerly Rush Security Ltd) v Da Cruz [2005] ERNZ 808;Transmissions & Diesels Ltd v Matheson [2002] 1 ERNZ 22 |
| Number of Pages | 5 |
| PDF File Link: | 2011_NZERA_Auckland_324.pdf [pdf 22 KB] |