Application for the Removal of a Trustee - Costs

Facts

The substantive litigation between the parties concerned an application for the removal of Mr Couper as trustee of a number of family trusts. His removal was sought due to his decision to use the trust property to arrive at equal outcomes between the beneficiaries, some of whom had received more property than others from other funds, rather than treatin g all beneficiaries equally. The application was brought by both the beneficiaries and by some of Mr Couper's co-trustees.

This hearing concerned who was to pay the costs of both the trustees and the beneficiaries in relation to the substantive litigation. Determining the issue of costs was complicated by the fact that it was not clear who had been the most successful parties. The judge found that the plaintiffs had been successful in a number of important interlocutory matters, including forcing the removal...