All publications relating to ‘Litigation’
Contracts in the time of the Coronavirus (COVID-19)
There has been unprecedented disruptions to businesses and the economy with the current coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. With the restrictions being placed on the movement of people and gatherings, COVID could have very real implications for a range of industries like construction, which require a large workforce to be mobilised to work on…
It’s almost time: Amendments to the Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 1999 (NSW) to commence on 21 October 2019
The Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 1999 (NSW) (the Act) is about to undergo some changes. Those changes will apply to construction contracts in New South Wales entered from 21 October 2019. What are the changes?Reference dates are goneThere are no more reference dates. The concept of a ‘reference date’ will…
Security for costs and non-resident plaintiffs
What is security for costs? It is a fact of life that plaintiffs and defendants in legal proceedings represented by lawyers will incur costs, which in some cases can be substantial. Generally, the unsuccessful party in those proceedings is ordered to pay the costs of the successful party. Those costs are usually…
Corporations and defamation
Several high-profile Australians have become embroiled in defamation cases in recent months. A publication about a person communicated to a third party is defamatory if an ordinary reasonable person would think it tends to: injure that person’s reputation by disparaging them;cause others to shun or avoid them;subject them to hatred, ridicule or contempt. Can a company sue for defamation? What…
You gotta have faith: good faith and determinations under the SOP Act
Building and Construction Industry Security of Payments Act 1999 (NSW) The Building and Construction Industry Security of Payments Act 1999 (NSW) (SOP Act) provides a statutory entitlement to progress payments which runs parallel to a construction contract. Under the SOP Act, a party may engage a registered adjudicator to make a decision as to the amount…
Home owners: what to do about defects
It seems a straightforward arrangement, a builder is contracted to build a residential building. They build it and hand it over to its owners. Contract fulfilled. But what if it isn’t that simple? As with most products, a building can look great on the outside but contain hidden defects. The difference is that building defects can…
You say tomato, I say tomahto: The battle of the forms and building contracts
Introduction In the recent decision of Stepanoski v Aslan [2018] NSWSC 1160, the New South Wales Court of Appeal had to grapple with whether: (a) the parties involved were bound by the first building contract that they signed; or (b) whether the subsequent contract, which was signed by the parties later and backdated…
Cross all t’s, dot all i’s: Personal guarantees gone wrong
Introduction There are occasions, especially for small to medium size enterprises, where the company’s director or directors have to provide a personal guarantee in order to obtain finance and/or goods and services on credit. A personal guarantee empowers the lender or supplier to make the guarantor pay, on demand, all or part…
Appeals: a useful lesson
The decision of PND Civil Group Pty Ltd v Bastow Civil Constructions Pty Ltd [2017] NSWCA 159 highlights the difficulty of raising new issues on appeal, in so far as a party will (generally) be bound by the way in which it conducted its case at first instance. The facts Bastow Civil Constructions…
Use it or lose it; a recent case on the law of adverse possession
In New South Wales law it is possible for you to become the owner of land by ‘adverse possession’. Adverse possession, also known as ‘squatters’ rights’, allows someone to legally take ownership of land they have occupied exclusively for at least 12 years. In other words, it is essentially a case of…