Greek Macedonian Club Limited v Pan Macedonian Greek Brotherhood NSW Limited

Greek Macedonian Club Limited and Pan Macedonian Greek Brotherhood NSW Limited were the parties involved in this dispute which was heard in the Supreme Court of New South Wales. The central issue was whether the court's order regarding the execution of a lease, which included the rent and other terms, could be altered to include a term requiring the lessee to pay outgoings. The dispute arose after the court had already declared certain terms of the equitable lease and ordered the execution of a lease containing those terms, while reserving the liberty to apply in the event of any difficulties in implementing the orders.

The legal issues before the court were whether the resolution of the dispute regarding the outgoings term fell within the court's liberty to apply, or if it fell within the court's inherent jurisdiction or the slip rule. The court had to consider whether the evidence presented at the trial showed that the agreed rent was based on the assumption that the lessee would pay certain outgoings, and if so, whether this could be resolved within the existing liberty to apply, or if it required a different legal mechanism.

The court found that the evidence showed the declared rent was agreed upon the basis that the lessee would pay certain outgoings. However, the court concluded that resolving this dispute was not within the liberty to apply reserved in the original order. Instead, the court determined that the resolution of this issue fell within the court's inherent jurisdiction or under the slip rule, allowing the court to adjust the terms of the lease to include the term requiring the lessee to pay outgoings.

The court ultimately ordered that the lease executed pursuant to the earlier order should include a term requiring the lessee to pay outgoings, as this was consistent with the evidence presented at the trial and fell within the court's inherent jurisdiction or the slip rule.