Stankovic v The Hills Shire Council

The applicant, Stankovic, sought leave to appeal against a costs order made in favour of the respondent, The Hills Shire Council. The application was filed approximately ten years after the original proceedings were dismissed, although those proceedings had subsequently been reinstated. The matter came before the Court of Appeal of New South Wales, constituted by Basten and Ward JJA.

The primary legal issues before the Court were whether to grant an extension of time for Stankovic to file the application for leave to appeal, and if so, whether to grant leave to appeal against the costs order. The Court was required to consider the applicant's justification for the significant delay in bringing the appeal and the merits of the proposed grounds of appeal.

The Court determined that the grounds of the proposed appeal were unarguable and that there was a complete absence of justification for the ten-year delay. Consequently, the Court dismissed the summons seeking leave to appeal and ordered that the applicant pay the respondent's costs of the application.