Costs order on relief from sanctions application (Lakatamia v Nobu Su)

Table of contents

• Practical implications

Article summary

DR analysis: the Commercial Court has ordered the respondent to pay the bulk of the costs of the hearing of a relief from sanctions application. In doing so, it found the application had been an obvious one for relief being granted (this being a trivial breach applying the principles in Mitchell) and, as such, did not justify the strength of opposition by the respondent which had extended the half-hour listing into a half-day hearing. However, the court did also recognise the application did need to be made and, therefore, ordered the applicant to pay the costs of making the application (including its supporting evidence and that of the respondent’s in response) and a proportion of the costs of the hearing.