In a recent party and party costs dispute arising out of the Land and Environment Court of NSW, Blackstone Legal Costing recovered $444,868.47 for our clients against a total costs liability of $544,094.46. That is a recovery of 82% on a standard, not indemnity, basis. The figure widely accepted as the practical upper end for standard party and party recovery is around 75%. This matter shows why that figure is better understood as a rule of thumb than a ceiling.

Background

Two lay clients approached us after succeeding in Class 4 proceedings in the Land and Environment Court, following a lengthy neighbour dispute concerning illegal building work. Having won on the substantive matter and secured a costs order in their favour, they faced the separate and often underestimated task of recovering those costs from the paying party.

The negotiations

Before we were instructed, the applicants' solicitors had made a Calderbank offer of $441,374.83 in September 2025. The paying party did not engage.

We were briefed in October 2025 and put a further without prejudice offer, proposing that the respondents pay $375,898.34 over four months. In November 2025, the respondents replied with an offer of $105,000 payable over one month, a figure well short of any reasonable assessment of the costs owed.

We then drew the Bill of Costs, itemising the amount properly claimable. We served the Bill and made an entirely commercial offer to settle at $325,778.56. The respondents countered at $285,000. That offer was rejected and the Bill was filed for assessment.

The respondents made a final attempt to resolve the matter in April 2026, offering $301,000 payable over 28 days in settlement of the costs order. This offer was rejected as we advised the assessment would yield considerably more.

The outcome

On 8 July 2026 the Court ordered the respondents to pay the costs of the assessment, our clients' costs and a total sum, inclusive of interest, of $441,628.37. With additional interest accruing after the assessment, that figure rose to $444,868.47.

The result is worth setting against the offers that had been on the table. The best offer the respondents made prior to a bill being drawn was $105,000, or 23% of the actual outcome, and 19% of the applicants’ actual liability. The best offer received was $301,000, being 67% of the assessed figure and 55% of the solicitor/client liability.

The assessed recovery exceeded the respondents' best offer by roughly $144,000 and exceeded our clients' own lowest offer by nearly $120,000. Had the clients accepted any offer put to them, they would have left a substantial sum unrecovered - not a few thousand, tens and even hundreds of thousands.

Why it matters

Costs law is, at its core, about being made whole. A successful party should recover as much of what they have properly spent as the law allows. The 75% figure often cited as the upper end of standard recovery is a useful benchmark, but it is not a fixed limit and treating it as one can leave money on the table.

Achieving a result of this kind takes more than drawing a competent bill. It takes judgement about when to settle and when to press on, a clear reading of what an assessment is likely to deliver and the confidence to hold a position under pressure. Blackstone Legal Costing brings that combination to every matter we run.