Samuel Tov-Lev & Ors v John Joseph Lowbeer

In Samuel Tov-Lev & Ors v John Joseph Lowbeer, the applicants, the rabbi and members of the congregation of the Holocaust and War Memorial Synagogue, sought special leave to appeal against the decision of the Federal Court of Australia. The respondents were the auditor of the company that owned the Synagogue and others. The dispute centered around the auditor's refusal to resign following a request by the applicants, leading to a series of legal actions culminating in the sequestration of the applicants' estates. The applicants sought to challenge the sequestration orders and a costs order made in favour of the respondents in the Supreme Court of New South Wales.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether special leave to appeal should be granted to the applicants. This required the court to consider whether the appeal had sufficient prospects of success and whether any questions of principle were involved. The court had to assess the likelihood of the appeal succeeding and the potential significance of any legal questions raised.

The court found that the applicants' draft notice of appeal did not raise any question of principle. Additionally, the prospects of success for the appeal were deemed insufficient to warrant the grant of special leave. The court concluded that the Federal Court's decision was correct, and there was no utility in proceeding with the appeal. Consequently, the application for special leave was dismissed, and the subsequent summons filed by the applicants was also dismissed. The court directed that an order be made accordingly, dismissing both the application for special leave and the summons.