Barbieri v Pirovic

The applicants, Barbieri and Pirovic, sought leave to appeal from a decision of the Supreme Court of New South Wales. The dispute concerned an application for an extension of time to appeal against costs orders made in earlier proceedings. The applicants had previously filed a notice of appeal challenging both the principal judgment and the costs orders, but this had been dismissed as incompetent. They now sought to pursue an appeal solely in relation to the costs orders, some ten months after the original judgment.

The primary legal issue before Gleeson and Mitchelmore JJA was whether to grant an extension of time for the applicants to file a summons seeking leave to appeal against the costs orders. This required the Court to consider whether there was a fairly arguable case for leave to appeal, taking into account the significant delay and the fact that the applicants had received legal advice.

The Court refused the application for an extension of time. Their Honours noted the substantial delay of approximately ten months in seeking to appeal the costs orders, particularly given that the applicants had received legal advice and their earlier attempt to appeal had been dismissed as incompetent. The Court concluded that there was no fairly arguable case for leave to appeal, and therefore an extension of time was not warranted. Consequently, the summons seeking leave to appeal was dismissed, and the applicants were ordered to pay the respondents' costs in the Court.