Sometimes, the respondent to an appeal may ask the Environment Court to make an order securing costs before allowing an appeal to be heard.
They may request this if it’s suspected that the person bringing the appeal (the appellant) may not have enough money to pay costs if their appeal fails.
The court does not have to grant any request for a security for costs, and will need to consider the interests of all sides.
If you are the appellant and there is a security for costs order against you, you will need to pay a deposit of money. The court will decide how much, depending on the nature of the case and the likely costs.
Even if the court grants an order for security for costs and the appeal is lost, this does not automatically mean that costs will be awarded. The court may decide that each side will be responsible for their own costs if:
- an appeal raises appropriate RMA issues
- time has not been wasted through the process
- the appeal has been presented fairly.
In this case, the appellant would receive back their deposit as security for costs.
See more on...
Security for costs
February 2021
© Ministry for the Environment