Macedonian Orthodox Community Church St Petka Incorporated v Metropolitan Petar

The Macedonian Orthodox Community Church St Petka Incorporated (the applicant) sought leave to appeal a decision of the primary judge. The Metropolitan Petar and the Macedonian Orthodox Diocese of Australia and New Zealand (the respondents) opposed the application. The dispute concerned the applicant's prospects of success on appeal and the costs associated with the application for leave to appeal.

The Court of Appeal was required to determine whether the proposed appeal had sufficient prospects of success to warrant the grant of leave. This involved assessing whether there was an arguable case that the primary judge had made an appealable error. Additionally, the Court considered the respondents' request for an order under rule 42.25 of the Uniform Civil Procedure Rules (UCPR) that the costs of the application for leave to appeal not be paid out of trust assets, a question that was contingent on the outcome of the ultimate proceedings.

The Court dismissed the application for leave to appeal, finding that it did not have sufficient prospects of success. The Court ordered the applicant to pay the costs of the First and Second Respondents. The question of whether an order should be made under UCPR 42.25 concerning these costs was reserved to the trial judge, to be determined in light of the ultimate outcome of the proceedings.