Recent cases on costs under the Retail Leases Act 2003 – Part I

The Tribunal has handed down two interesting cases on costs in the retail tenancies list in the last few weeks.

In Jones and Anor v Globeoz Consultant Pty Ltd and Anor (Retail Tenancies) [2011] VCAT 2102, Senior Member Walker ordered the respondent to pay costs under s 92 of the RLA 2003 because it failed to attend a mediation at the Office of the Small Business Commissioner.

This is the first case that I am aware of in which the Tribunal ordered a party to pay costs for refusing to attend or withdrawing from mediation or other form of alternative dispute resolution.

A refusal to attend or withdrawal from mediation enlivens the Tribunal’s jurisdiction to award costs, but it does not automatically mean that costs will be awarded.  However, the case highlights the importance of attending mediation or other form of alternative dispute resolution in retail leasing cases.

Thanks to Mark Shramm and Jamie Bedelis for alerting me to this case.

[#I have just been told that a costs order was made for similar reasons in De Simone Nominees v Szabo [2005] VCAT 1595, 2911, 2919.  Thanks to Derry Davine for alerting me to this.]