Lincu v Krnjulac [2014] NSWSC 532

Supreme Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Lincu v Krnjulac [2014] NSWSC 532 Hearing dates: 26, 27, 28 and 29 August 2013 Decision date: 28 May 2014 Jurisdiction: Equity Division Before: Lindsay J Decision: Determination that defendants are liable to account for trust property of a church transferred into their names. Catchwords: CHARITIES - Charitable purposes - Advancement of religion - Religious buildings Church

CHURCHES AND RELIGIOUS ASSOCIATIONS - Church property and trusts - Trustees and Management Dispositions of, and dealings with, church property - Congregational form of church government

EQUITY - Trusts and trustees - Charitable trust - Advancement of religion - Church building Legislation Cited: Charitable Trusts Act 1993 NSW Conveyancing Act 1919 NSW, ss 23C or 54A Real Property Act 1900 NSW Trustee Act 1925 NSW, ss 70-71 Cases Cited: Attorney-General ex rel Elisha v Holy Apostolic and Catholic Church of the East (Assyrian) Australia NSW Parish Association (1989) 37 NSWLR 293 at 315A-C Barnes v Addy (1874) LR 9 Ch App 244 at 251-252 Barnes v Alderton [2008] NSWSC 107; 13 BPR 25, 281 at [76]-[77 Bridgewater v Leahy (1998) 194 CLR 457 at 494 [126]-[128] Cadd v Cadd (1909) 9 CLR 171 at 187 Central Bayside General Practice Association Limited v Commissioner of State Revenue (Victoria) (2006) 228 CLR 168 at 178 n 28 Ciaglia v Ciaglia [2010] NSWSC 175 at [65]-[85] Congregational Union of NSW v Thistlethwayte (1952) 87 CLR 375 at 441-445; 44 Federal Commissioner of Taxation v Word Investments Limited (2008) 236 CLR 204 Fielding v Houison (1908) 7 CLR 393 at 406 Glebe Administration Board v Commissioner of Pay-Roll Tax (1987) 10 NSWLR 352 at 357C and 357F-358B Heperu Pty Limited v Bell (2009) 76 NSWLR 230 at 267-268 [163] Incorporated Council of Law Reporting (Queensland) v Federal Commissioner of Taxation (1971) 125 CLR 659 at 666-667 Jones v Dunkel (1959) 101 CLR 298 at 308, 312 and 320-321 Letterstedt v Broers (1884) 9 App Cas 371 at 386-387; Miller v Cameron (1936) 54 CLR 572 at 579 and 580-581 Macqueen v Frackelton (1909) 8 CLR 673 at 696 Maguire v Makaronis (1997) 188 CLR 449 at 469 Maks v Maks (1986) 6 NSWLR 34 at 36E Mack v Lenton (1993) 32 NSWLR 259 at 260E-261E Minassion v Minassion [2010] NSWSC 708 at [44] Radmanovich v Nedeljkovic (2001) 52 NSWLR 641 at 669 [166]-671 [178] Re Dawson [1966] 2 NSWLR 211; 84 WN (NSW) (Pt 1) 399 Re Moroney; Maquire v Reilly (1939) 39 SR (NSW) 249; 56 WN (NSW) 105 Rochefoucauld v Boustead [1897] 1 Ch 196 at 205-206 Roman Catholic Archbishop of Melbourne v Lawlor (1934) 51 CLR 1 at 22-24, 25-26 and 32-33 Scandrett v Dowling (1992) 27 NSWLR 483 The Commissioners for Special Purposes of the Income Tax v Pemsel [1891] AC 531 at 583-584 Wratten v Hunter [1978] 2 NSWLR 367 Youyang Pty Ltd v Minter Ellison Morris Fletcher (2003) 212 CLR 484 Texts Cited: BH McPherson, "The Church as Consensual Compact, Trust and Corporation" (2000) 74 ALJ 159 at 167-168 F Jordan, Chapters on Equity in New South Wales (6th ed, 1947), pp 36-37 and 38-39 (reproduced in F Jordan, Select Legal Papers (Legal Books, Sydney, 1983) FM Bradshaw, The Law of Charitable Trusts in Australia (Butterworths, Sydney, 1983), pp 22-27, esp p 25 n 183; p 47 n 216 G Dal Pont, Charity Law in Australia and New Zealand (Oxford University Press, Melbourne, 2000), pp 152-158, esp 157 n 83 GE Dal Pont, Law of Charity (Lexis Nexis Butterworths, Australia, 2010) paragraph [10.14] note 81 H Picarda, The Law and Practice Relating to Charities (Bloomsbury Professional, UK, 4th ed, 2010), pp 104-106 Tudor on Charities (Sweet & Maxwell, London, 9th ed, 2003), paragraphs [3-039]-[3-040]; [2-048], [2-052] and [2-057] Category: Principal judgment Parties: Mathew Lincu (First Plaintiff) Zivadin Kovacevic (Second Plaintiff) Laza Krnjulac (First Defendant) Steve Krnjulac (Second Defendant) Simon Krnjulac (Third Defendant) Attorney General for the State of NSW (Fourth Defendant) File Number(s): 2011/00406044