A judge has rejected a Sydney law firm’s bid for an adjournment in a costs dispute with a former client, saying the spat “cannot be permitted to continue”.
Keybridge Capital chief executive officer Nicholas Bolton has lost his appeal of a costs review panel decision that saddled him with a legal bill of $308,940 for work done by Atanaskovic Hartnell for his company in a dispute with Brookfield Multiplex.
Law firm Atanaskovic Hartnell has argued that its alleged failure to provide updated fee estimates while acting for a company associated with investor Nicholas Bolton did not mean he is immune from paying fair and reasonable legal fees assessed at $308,940.
Justice Tim Faulkner’s “dessicated” sense of humour was on display during a swearing in ceremony on Thursday, during which the new judge thanked his colleagues on the bench for their handwritten letters of welcome, one of which he said was “completely unreadable”.