Contributory negligence in motor accident claims
Tony Cavanagh is a Director at Mullane & Lindsay in Newcastle and specialises in commercial dispute resolution & litigation, and employment law.
In March 2007 Ms Chadwick was rendered paraplegic in a motor accident. She had been a passenger in a vehicle driven by Mr Allen who had a blood alcohol reading of 0.229. It was clear the manner of his driving caused the crash and Ms Chadwick’s injuries. Mr Allen and a friend had been drinking over an extended period of time. In the early hours of the morning Allen, Chadwick and the friend went for the drive looking for cigarettes. Ms Chadwick was initially driving because she had not been drinking as she was pregnant. However during the trip she stopped and left the driver’s seat briefly. When she returned Allen had moved to the driver’s position and refused to vacate it. Chadwick got in and the crash occurred soon after. She was not wearing a seatbelt at the time.
The group was on a driving holiday and the incident occurred on the darkened outskirts of an unfamiliar town. Ms Chadwick gave evidence she was disoriented; thought she was much further from the town than she in fact was and that there was no safe way of returning to the town (where her children were asleep at a motel) except by getting back into the car. Read the rest of this entry »
Hands off my documents! – Confidentiality of third party information in family law matters
Ashleigh John is a Family Law Accredited Specialist at Mullane & Lindsay in Newcastle and practises extensively in Family, Relationship and Matrimonial Law.
It is common practice in family law matters for a Subpoena to be issued to third parties seeking copies of their notes or personal documents. This creates a conflict between the rights of the third party to confidentiality of their information, and the rights of justice to the litigant.
This issue was recently considered by the Full Court of the Family Court in circumstances where the husband to family law proceedings sought the production by the wife’s mother and brothers of details of the wife’s late father’s estate, including the will and list of assets and liabilities of the estate.
The family argued that the Court could not guarantee that their private information would not be leaked into the public domain as a result of their compliance with the Subpoena. Read the rest of this entry »
Why not cap your warranties?
by Lachlan Page
Lachlan Page is a Solicitor at Mullane & Lindsay and is part of our Commercial, Property & Estates Law team.
We all know that warranties play a significant part of negotiating sale transactions.
The usual dance involves the Purchaser seeking extensive warranties and the Vendor resisting with the end result somewhere in between.
There are a couple of techniques that may assist a Vendor/Vendor’s Solicitor in negotiating warranties that are not too onerous on the Vendor without derailing the transaction altogether. Read the rest of this entry »
Agency agreements and contractual traps
Tony Cavanagh is a Director at Mullane & Lindsay in Newcastle and specialises in commercial dispute resolution & litigation, and employment law.
Mentmore Pty Ltd wanted to import some goods. It obtained finance from a lender, Moneytech Services Pty Ltd to do so. Moneytech was named as the purchaser of the goods, pending payment by Mentmore. Under specific provisions of The Customs Act an ‘owner’ of goods can appoint a customs agent to act for him. “Owner” is defined to include someone claiming an interest in the goods. Technically, in these circumstances, Moneytech was an ‘owner’; and it appointed Megatop as its customs agent to receive the import. Read the rest of this entry »
Choosing the right words to motivate clients to use you
by Felicity Wardhaugh
Felicity Wardhaugh is a Special Counsel at Mullane & Lindsay in Newcastle and specialises in commercial dispute resolution & litigation, and employment law.
Elizabeth Stokoe from the University of Loughborough conducted some research into how using the right words on the telephone could motivate the public to engage in mediation. Her observations are useful for any service marketing to the public. Her research article is published as: Elisabeth Stokoe, “Overcoming barriers to mediation in intake calls to services: Research-based strategies for mediators”, 2013 (29) (3) Negotiation Journal 289. A UK marketing guide for mediation practices https://www.gov.uk/government applies the research and makes some practical suggestions. The study involved transcripts from 200 intake calls to 5 mediation services in the UK. Read the rest of this entry »
“Off the plan” contracts – Developers rights to rescind under sunset clauses
By Michael McGrath
Michael McGrath is a Director at Mullane & Lindsay in Newcastle and specialises in our Commercial, Property & Estates Law Team.
As of 2 November 2015, the Conveyancing Amendment (Sunset Clauses) Act 2015 (NSW) came into force and applies to off-the-plan contracts for sale of residential lots and restricts a developer from automatically rescinding an off-the-plan contract under a sunset date clause.
The government had expressed concern that developers were intentionally delaying the registration of plans past the sunset dates provided for in contracts, with the result that they could rescind and resell at higher prices in rising markets. Read the rest of this entry »
Buying a Business? Beware the GST Trap!
by Lachlan Page
Lachlan Page is a Solicitor at Mullane & Lindsay and is part of our Commercial, Property & Estates Law team.
When purchasing a business in Australia you are usually able to take advantage of a GST exemption under the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 (‘the GST Act‘).
The exemption is known as the ‘sale of a going concern’ exemption. In order to satisfy the sale of a going concern exemption the Purchaser ‘must receive all of the things that are necessary for the continued operation of the enterprise [business].’ Read the rest of this entry »
Have you ever wondered how to help a friend during separation?
by Rose Laffan
Rose Laffan is a Senior Solicitor at Mullane & Lindsay in Newcastle and practises extensively in Family, Relationship and Matrimonial Law
Most of us know someone who is currently going through a separation or who has gone through one in the past but do you know what to say to them to help them through this often difficult time?
Family law is such a multifaceted jurisdiction that obtaining expert legal advice is a necessity. With the complexities of modern life – with everything from stepfamilies to intricate family trusts – the days of armchair advice may be over. Read the rest of this entry »
Alcohol and dismissal for serious misconduct
Tony Cavanagh is a Director at Mullane & Lindsay in Newcastle and specialises in commercial dispute resolution & litigation, and employment law.
A senior manager was summarily dismissed from employment following a heavy drinking session during (but not as part of) a work conference. He sued for breach of contract. At trial it was held summary dismissal was not warranted. It was also held that the employer could have given notice and terminated his employment on notice, but would not have done so for roughly another 2 years. On that basis he was awarded just under $300,000.00 as damages, being the amount he would have earned prior to being dismissed on notice. The employer appealed both as to whether summary dismissal was justified and on damages. Read the rest of this entry »