The High Court has ordered Dublin City Council to pay the costs of two applicants whose proceedings were settled in their favour before any court hearing or adjudication.
The sole issue left for the court was costs. The Council argued, with the benefit of hindsight, that a warning letter before litigation could have resolved matters without court proceedings. Both sides agreed that the law did not require such a letter.
The Council asked the court to express “displeasure” at how the applicants had proceeded by reducing or refusing their costs. Mr Justice Max Barrett said there was no basis for that response: the applicants had done nothing unlawful or legally improper, and the complaint was that they had not taken a step the law did not require.
The judge said that, save in untypical circumstances, there was no basis to reduce or deny costs to successful litigants who were entitled by law to proceed as they had and had met their legal obligations. He ordered costs to the applicants.
The judgment, delivered on 6 June 2019, records no hearing or adjudication on the underlying proceedings. It addresses the costs dispute following settlement.