Yesterday one of our matters went to trial before Supreme Judge Allanson. It is rare thing. Only about two per cent of Supreme Court cases go to trial, and that is the same for all of our commercial disputes. The other 98% settle, usually with the assistance of a mediator. This trial was unusual, because […]
Supreme Court Trial Read More »
We saw a chap yesterday who owns a duplex property. The other duplex owner has built a higher fence next to an old existing fence and concreted half her back yard. Our client wishes to connect to sewerage but the connection point is on the other side of the concrete slab, which was laid after
Neighbour Disputes Read More »
Some clients of ours were not happy with their ex-accountant because he had been giving advice to a family member, who was also a client, which was averse to our clients’ interests. They then refused to pay one of his accounts and the accountant got his solicitor to threaten to sue them. The conflict of
Accountant Conflict of Interest Read More »
We have been working on a shareholder agreement with some slightly complicated succession clauses. In summary: (a) the company pays for insurance for the key persons associated with each of the shareholder companies; (b) in the event of death or total and permanent incapacity of a key person: (i) the shareholders associated with that key
Shareholder Agreements Read More »
We are meeting with two other solicitors this afternoon in an attempt to negotiate the settlement of a long-running and acrimonious dispute over a deceased estate. One of the solicitors belongs to the third law firm that has been engaged by the opposition, which has not helped the situation. The other represents the other defendant,
Resolving a Dispute with Solicitors Read More »
We had a good result for a client just before Christmas last year. Their company had provided over one million dollars in services between 1 July and 30 November, but had not been paid. The company’s former solicitor had concentrated on the disputes and not the common ground. We went for the low hanging fruit
Debt Collection Good Result Read More »
We had a new matter this week involving a contract for the sale of land. Our client is a company that owns a villa. The directors are a husband and wife. The husband thought the wife wished to sell, so he put the house on the market, an offer was made, and he signed the
Incomplete Sale of Land Read More »
I saw a lovely 79 year old lady on Tuesday. She is moving into a nursing home in Glendalough run the Little Sisters of the Poor. One of the pre-conditions to admission, besides having assets less than $40,000, is that she needed an Enduring Power of Attorney in place. I prepared an enduring power of
Here’s a sad story. We learnt of a young chap last week who is on life support, but more than likely brain dead, so his step-father and partner were going to have to consult with the doctors about turning off the machine. The Guardianship and Administration Act sets out the priority of person who need
Life Support with no Will Read More »
Michael saw an old client this week. He’s had his builder’s ticket for 4 years and is about to start his own building company. He owns a property with his 2 brothers. They are not interested in funding a development, so he is going to finance the demolition of the old house and the construction
Property Development Read More »