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Solicitor to personally front costs due to ‘administrative delays’
A solicitor has been ordered to “personally pay” the costs accrued from a delay in court proceedings, citing administrative oversight and COVID-19 restrictions.
Naomi Neilson
A strata solicitor with over 15 years’ experience has agreed to personally pay the costs of a delayed appeal proceeding, explaining to the Supreme Court of NSW that his firm experienced “administrative delay” amid changed COVID-19 working conditions.
Returning from a court matter in February, Mr Cunio instructed his assistant to include the relevant date for the new filing of his client’s application in his electronic diary, but she failed to do so. Four days later, Mr Cunio prepared a brief for a senior counsel but the brief arrived three months later and spurred further preparation delays.
Mr Cunio admitted it was his fault that the appeal was not lodged in time and explained that the administrative oversight took place during the time the firm had to relocate the office to their homes in order to comply with new social distancing restrictions.
In April, after the deadline had passed, the owners corporation solicitor informed him that the time had lapsed and demanded payment of costs. The opposing solicitor told the Supreme Court that a “senior and competent solicitor”, like Mr Cunio, should have been “aware that a responsibility for the matter was not absolved” amid the brief.
“It was not [the client’s] fault that the summons was not filed in time,” read documents from the decision. “While this is a borderline case, in the exercise of my discretion, this is my view that an extension of time to file a summons should be granted on the basis that the client’s solicitor will personally pay the [owners corporation’s] costs.”
A complete overview of this case can be found on Austlii at Rodny v Stricke (No 2) [2020] NSWSC 1126 (24 August 2020).
Naomi Neilson
Naomi Neilson is a senior journalist with a focus on court reporting for Lawyers Weekly.
You can email Naomi at:
