Building Dispute
We are dealing with a building dispute. We are concerned the building company involved will drag out the matter, and then go into liquidation. So this week we’ve been investigating what recourse our client might have. We will be able to sue the registered builder behind the company, for negligence. He failed to properly supervise […]
I was at a Supreme Court mediation yesterday trying to resolve a long-running dispute. I’m afraid that the enemy just wasted our time. This was a third attempt. On the first attempt we thought we had a resolution to the dispute with my client agreeing to pay a 6 figure amount to go away. Unfortunately, […]
Mediating Disputes
I had prepared a shareholder agreement for some clients. An issue arose between two groups of shareholders and one group asked me if I could interpret the shareholder agreement and that everyone had agreed that they would abide by the opinion. However, when I spoke to the other group, it was not that clear cut. […]
Family Provision Disputes
I went to a 4 hour seminar on Family Provision actions on Tuesday, in which relatives of the deceased claim to have special need that was not adequately provided for by the deceased. It covered recent decisions, superannuation and life insurance implications, preparation for hearings and arguments about equitable estoppel and constructive and resulting trusts […]
Property Dispute
Last week I settled a dispute between an owner and a project manager. We acted for the owner. A project manager for a major renovation sought an extra payment of some $25k from my client. My client disputed the claim and complained about poor project management, though the damages were hard to quantify. The Project […]
Domestic Dispute
This week I’ve been dealing with a case of elder abuse. Am 82 year old widow client of mine is being harassed by her 60 year old son. Since her husband died, she has already given him over $½ million, but he keeps asking for more, despite promising each time that it will be the […]
Dispute Over Unpaid Invoices
I received a call during the week from the daughter of a gentleman who has taken out his own summons in the Magistrates Court, chasing over $62k in unpaid invoices. A trial is listed for April, but various orders have been made in the meantime regarding procedural steps that need to be taken. Unfortunately, they […]
Potentially Fraudulent Promises
One of our client’s has been strung along for some months with promises of payment and extra work. The promises have all been broken, to such an extent that it might amount to fraud. The amount involved is now in excess of $50,000, which means that it would have to be dealt with by a […]
Family Provision Dispute
This week we received an e-mail from a lady whose step-son has served a Family Provision claim on her and his half-brother, his father having made no provision for him at all in his Will. We sent her back an e-mail seeking the relevant information, because the step-son has to prove both need and that […]
$1.8 Million Claim – District Court Mediation
Michael attended a District Court mediation last week. We represented one elderly defendant. The plaintiff had a somewhat ambit claim seeking $1.8 million in damages plus costs. The other defendant was seeking a 100% indemnity from our client, which I believe they would have got, if liability were proved. While liability was in doubt, it […]