Who is Responsible if a Child Suffers an Injury on Your Property?
by Kristy Nunn
Kristy Nunn is a Associate Director at Mullane & Lindsay in Newcastle and practices in our Dispute Resolution and Litigation Team.
In a recent case in the Queensland Supreme Court, the Court was asked to decide if an owner was liable for injuries suffered to a 17 year old child in a motor vehicle accident
Mr Grundy owned a rural property. On Christmas Day 2005 he held a family luncheon where his 17 year old step-granddaughter attended to see her grandmother (Mr Grundy’s partner), together with her mother, step-father and younger siblings. After Christmas lunch, the granddaughter requested permission to take her 14 year old brother for a drive in a car kept on the property. Read the rest of this entry »
When Winning Means Losing – Litigation Costs
Tony Cavanagh is a Director at Mullane & Lindsay in Newcastle and is one of LawCover’s panel solicitors.
The NSW Supreme Court recently dealt with a dispute relating to a retaining wall that encroached a neighbour’s property.
Because of the way the litigation proceeded, the order for removal of the encroaching wall was made at an early stage, but the case continued on, as a claim for damages and for legal costs were pursued. Relevantly, a number of offers of settlement of the dispute were made by the defendants before the removal order was made. Read the rest of this entry »
Making Family Law Orders & Agreements Count Across the Ditch
David Gawthorne is a Senior Solicitor at Mullane & Lindsay in Newcastle and an Accredited Specialist in Family, Relationship and Matrimonial Law
New Zealand is geographically near to Australia and there is a special arrangement in place for free movement between the two countries. At the same time, Australia and New Zealand have very different Family Law systems for determining disputes between separated couples concerning how their joint and separate property is to be dealt with. So, circumstances often arise in which a disputing couple have residences or other property in both countries, potentially leading to a question as to which Family Law system should apply. To compound the difficulty, existing orders of Australian Family Law courts are not automatically recognised in New Zealandcourts, because there is presently no ability to register Australian Family Law orders there.
This situation is expected to change later in 2012 with the coming into force of the New Zealand Trans Tasman Proceedings Act and counterpart Australian legislation. The legislation will allow Australian Family Law orders to be registered and have force inNew Zealand. It will also provide a single test to be applied in bothAustralia and New Zealand as to which country’s courts should decide a particular Trans-Tasman Family Law property dispute. The third significant aspect is that Binding Financial Agreements (including prenuptial agreements) will be able to provide that either Australian orNew Zealand law should apply in considering the effect of the agreement. This will relieve a significant problem in trying to make agreements that cover the law of both countries when parties have property spread across theTasman Sea.
Reference: Eggleston, E. ‘Trans-Tasman Family Law Financial Issues’ (July 2012) Law Society Journal 72-75
David Gawthorne is a Senior Solicitor at Mullane & Lindsay, and practises extensively in Family, Relationship and Matrimonial Law. If you require any assistance in this area please contact David Gawthorne to arrange a consultation or contact our Newcastle office.
The Perils of Hot Chips
by Kristy Nunn
Kristy Nunn is a Assoicate Director at Mullane & Lindsay in Newcastle and practices in our Dispute Resolution and Litigation Team.
Hot chips are often criticised for being bad for our health. In the recent case decided by the High Court of Australia, hot chips were blamed for depositing grease on a shopping centre floor, which caused a woman to fall and suffer injury.
In September 2004 Ms Strong, a right leg amputee who was dependent on crutches, was looking at plants in a sidewalk sales area outside Big W at the Centro Taree Shopping Centre. Her crutch slipped on grease deposited by a chip which caused her to fall. She commenced some Court proceedings and her case went all the way to the High Court: Strong v Woolworths Ltd trading as Big W & Anor [2012] HCA 5. Read the rest of this entry »