Defendant restricted to limited costs after largely unsuccessful construction dispute and refusal of settlement offer

The High Court determined complex costs issues following an earlier principal judgment in a construction dispute, where the defendant was largely unsuccessful against the third parties except for a small portion of defects where liability had already been conceded. Recognising that almost all trial issues were decided against the defendant, and most of her claim failed both in terms of value and number of issues, the court exercised its discretion to limit her recovery of costs strictly to the Circuit Court scale up to and including the first day of trial, awarding the third parties their High Court costs from Day 2 onward and granting a 'differential costs order' for the additional expenses incurred. The decision emphasised that the defendant had unreasonably refused a generous settlement offer before trial and had pressed on with largely unsuccessful wider claims, with the court's approach guided by the principles of proportionality, efficiency and the avoidance of unnecessary litigation.