Successful defendant not entitled to costs due to false evidence and external payment of legal fees

The Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal against a High Court decision denying the defendant his legal costs after he successfully defended a claim of sexual assault brought by the plaintiff. The High Court had found that, although the defendant had prevailed, he was not entitled to his costs due to untrue evidence he gave in support of a co-defendant, and because his legal expenses were funded entirely by the co-defendant, making a costs award inappropriate. The Court of Appeal upheld this decision, ruling that both the provision of false evidence and the external payment of costs constituted special circumstances justifying the departure from the usual principle that an entirely successful party is entitled to their costs. As a result, each side was ordered to bear their own costs.