Lease Dispute Arbitration
This week we finalised an agreement to send numerous disputes regarding a lease to arbitration. One dispute related to whether the lessee or the lessor is liable for sewerage discharge charges levied by the Water Corp. Other disputes relate to various defects around the premises, including non-compliant electrical and plumbing fittings, non-compliant fire-safety plant and […]
Probate of Will with Informal Codicil
This week Michael met with an accountant to receive some instructions to apply for probate on a Will that we drafted about 10 years ago. There is also a rather informal codicil which the accountant had drafted for the client, which appears to be valid, despite being in the form of a letter and not […]
IP Issues for IT Client
We received an e-mail from an old IT client who had a trade mark issue. A cruise company wanted to register a trade mark in relation to some Apps it had developed. IP Australia said they were too similar to our client’s trade marks, which were in the same class.They asked our client to sign […]
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 […]
Alternative Dispute Resolution
Its been a busy week for us on the alternative dispute resolution front for us, including: Settling a draft position statement for a Supreme Court Mediation; Finalising a position statement for a District Court Mediation; and Preparing for an arbitration in relation to various disputes to do with a lease. For assistance with dispute resolution, […]
Know who you are contracting with
Kellie was in Midland last week seeking summary judgment in case we are working on. The Claimant first of all tried to sue our client’s company for breach of contract. That company counter claimed, but later went into liquidation. They then sued our client for breach of the same contract, but he was not a […]
Behind in Rent
I got a call yesterday morning from the daughter of a client who owns a commercial property. Her tenant is behind in the rent By early yesterday afternoon we had a draft demand notice prepared seeking: payment of the rent arrears; interest which is accruing at 15% p.a, or $4.55/day; and our legal fees, all […]
Company Dispute
We started dealing with another company dispute this week. Our client has been left to run the business on his own for over a year without any help from his co-shareholders and directors. They have accused him of taking more than his entitlements and seek leave to take action on behalf of the company against […]
The Importance of a Binding Death Benefit Nomination
I was reading a recent case yesterday about a lady whose husband passed away with no will, a small estate, $500k in super and no binding death benefit nomination. She applied for letters of administration, but she also asked the super fund to pay all of the super to herself. Unfortunately, this put her in […]