Free Serbian Orthodox Church Diocese for Australia and New Zealand Property Trust v Bishop Irinej Dobrijevic (No 3)

The appeal concerned the entitlement of a trustee, the Property Trust Company, to be indemnified from trust property for its costs in an appeal, and the basis on which the trustee should pay the respondents' costs. The appeal was brought by the Property Trust Company and individual appellants against the respondents, Bishop Irinej Dobrijevic and others. The Court of Appeal of New South Wales was required to determine whether the trustee was entitled to indemnification from the trust property for its own costs and any costs it was ordered to pay the respondents, and on what basis the trustee should pay the respondents' costs.

The Court determined that the trustee was not entitled to indemnification from the trust property for its costs of the appeal, nor for any costs it was ordered to pay the respondents. This was because the trustee had not sought judicial advice before embarking on the appeal. The Court also ordered that the individual appellants were to pay the first and second respondents' costs of the appeal up to a specified date. Furthermore, the Property Trust Company was ordered to pay the first and second respondents' costs on an indemnity basis for specific aspects of the appeal, namely the preparation of written submissions and the application to amend the notice of appeal. For all other issues in the appeal not covered by the indemnity order, the Property Trust Company was to pay the respondents' costs on a party-party basis.