Defendant should not have been saddled with costs of other parties that had settled with plaintiff

The Court of Appeal set aside a High Court order requiring the defendant to pay all of a finance company’s legal costs following a motion to enforce a settlement agreement. The High Court had made a joint and several costs order against the defendant and his former solicitors, after both unsuccessfully opposed the enforcement application. However, by the time final orders were made, the finance company and the solicitors had settled their dispute, leaving only the defendant liable for the full costs. The Court of Appeal found this to be unfair, holding that the defendant should only be liable for that portion of costs attributable to his own opposition, excluding any costs caused by the solicitors’ intervention. The appeal as between the defendant and the finance company was allowed in part, while the appeal against the solicitors was dismissed. The court also apportioned the costs of the appeal due to an open offer made by the finance company before the hearing.