Seamus E. Byrne's - In Pursuit of Relevance

Ipex ITG Pty Ltd v Melbourne Water Corporation (No 4) [2008] VSC 497 (21 November 2008).

The recent decision of Byrne J in a security for costs application provides consideration of quantum for future litigation costs, including discovery. This entry outlines the defendant's claim for copying discoverable documents as part of brief to Counsel.

Copying of Discoverable Documents for Counsel

Defendant's Claim

• In relation to copying costs for discoverable documents as part of brief to Counsel, the defendant claimed $36,000.00.
• This claim was calculated per Scale Item 22 of the Court's Scale for Costs located in Appendix A of the Supreme Court (General Civil Procedure) Rules 2005 (Vic).

Scale Item 22

The Scale Item reflects:

(a) Copy or photocopy of document, per page
(b) Reproduction of document from microfiche, microfilm or like process, per page, the actual cost or

The Scale Item presently allows a "per page" cost of $1.80.

Plaintiff's Reasoning

• The plaintiff reasoned that it was "unnecessary to provide to Counsel hard copy where proper to provide electronic copy on CD or DVD."
• The plaintiff subsequently proposed that no cost (i.e. $0.00) should be allowed for such an electronic copying method.

Court Allowance

• The Court allowed re-adjusted copying costs of $37,800.00 (3,500 discoverable documents x 3 pages per document x 2 Counsel).
• His Honour provided no specific opinion as to apparent rejection of the plaintiff's reasoning for electronic copying.

Closing Remark

• Modern interpretation of the Scale Item supports a contention that should allow costs for electronic document copying.
• Notwithstanding, it is certainly apparent that a cost effective balance must be achieved between "no cost" and a potentially exorbitant CD/DVD burning exercise.