Cayman ISLANDS Law and Practice Contributed by: Sam Dawson, Peter Sherwood and Denis Olarou, Carey Olsen
10.6 Powers of the Appellate Court After an Appeal Hearing The appeal court may affirm, set aside, or vary any order of the lower court. It may also order a new trial. The appeal court may make orders as to costs and interest. 11. Costs 11.1 Responsibility for Paying the Costs of Litigation See 4.6 Costs of Interim Applications/Motions . 11.2 Factors Considered When Awarding Costs The court has wide discretion when awarding costs. The parties’ conduct in the litigation, including any payments into court or offers of settlement may be taken into account. The usual costs award is on the standard basis, which means that costs will only be allowed to the extent they are proportionate to the issues involved, were reasonably incurred, and were reasonable in amount, with any doubts that the taxing officer may have on these issues resolved in favour of the paying party. If costs are awarded on an indemnity basis, all costs shall be allowed except insofar as they are of an unreasonable amount or have been unrea - sonably incurred (and any doubts which the taxing officer may have as to whether the costs were reasonably incurred or were reasonable in amount shall be resolved in favour of the receiv- ing party). This tends to lead to a higher propor- tion of cost recovery. However, indemnity basis costs are rarely awarded and usually require a finding that a party behaved improperly.
is then granted by the Grand Court, a notice of appeal must be filed within 14 days of the date on which the judgment or order being appealed from was filed. If the Grand Court refuses leave, it can be sought from the Court of Appeal ex parte within seven days from the date of the Grand Court’s refusal and the application is usu- ally decided by a single judge of appeal. Appeals from the Court of Appeal to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council may be brought: (i) as of right; (ii) with leave of the Court of Appeal; or (iii) with special leave from the Judicial Com- mittee of the Privy Council itself. Where leave is sought from the Court of Appeal, it should be sought, on notice to the other parties, within 21 days of the date on which the Court of Appeal’s decision was filed. 10.4 Issues Considered by the Appeal Court at an Appeal The appeal court has jurisdiction to consider appeals on matters of law, fact, and the exer- cise of discretion by the first instance judge. However, the appeal court will be slow to over- turn a judge’s findings of fact (especially if they were made following a trial where witnesses were cross-examined). The appeal court is also reluctant to interfere with the judge’s exercise of discretion, unless it: • is so unreasonable as to fall outside the gen- erous ambit of discretion allowed to a judge; • resulted from the judge misdirecting them- selves as to the applicable principles; or • took into account irrelevant factors and failed to take into account relevant factors. 10.5 Court-Imposed Conditions on Granting an Appeal The court may impose conditions such as the payment of security.
275 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook