| Dispute Resolution News and Articles |
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| Illegal downloads - Internet service provider not held responsible |
| Courts are showing increasing understanding of internet based business models. |
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| Third Party Liability - A 'reasonable response' to risk of criminal act |
| A truck driver was tragically killed when four youths dropped blocks of concrete from an overpass into the freeway below. |
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| Confidentiality - Potential sub-contractor sues tenderer for breach |
| Considerable steps are usually taken to ensure the protection of information exchanged between a principal and a tenderer. |
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| False Advertising - Court remedies can be inventive |
| A manufacturer making misleading claims about the origins of some of its food products had to make a striking correction on the home page of its website. |
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| Email Evidence And The Paperless Trail |
| Laws on electronic transactions in the US and Australia make emails valid as written documents. But court cases emphasise that it is the content rather than the form of email communications that determines whether they make enforceable contracts. |
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| Photos As Evidence |
| In a recent case where a woman suffered catastrophic injuries on a coal haul road while driving to work, photographs of the state of the road were crucial, and the place of photographic evidence in court proceedings was further developed. |
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| Class Actions - Things to know |
| In the current economic climate it is not surprising that investor class actions are receiving increased attention. |
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| Law Reform- Less Australia/New Zealand legal divide |
| The Australian and New Zealand governments have signed an agreement to make it easier to enforce certain judgments and sanctions between the two countries. |
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| Managing super funds - Breach of rules can lead to imprisonment |
| A fund must be deemed a super fund under the superannuation laws for contributions to be tax deductible and the fund concessionally taxed. |
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| Professional Risk - Failure to warn |
| Professionals must be careful to fully inform clients to avoid accusations of negligence. |
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| Compulsorily Acquired Land - Claiming loss of profits |
| Claims for compensation are often made not only by landowners but also by businesses which operate on acquired land. |
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| Online Contracts - When is a click signature binding? |
| Clicking on an icon is the most common way to make an electronic signature in webpage contracts. |
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| Reputation - Can a company sue for defamation |
| The laws on defamation have changed but small companies and charities still have some recourse if they consider matter published about them is defamatory. |
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| Dispute Resolution - Should I go to court or mediate? |
| Mediation is a confidential conference, where all the participants attend to cooperate to resolve the dispute between them. |
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| Evidence Fails The Test - When a search warrant loses its power |
| The law doesn't allow a search warrant to be suspended and then resumed. |
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| Forgery - Invalidating the security on a loan |
| A recent appeal case is a timely reminder to everyone with financial interests that not only should steps be taken to ensure that fraud is not perpetrated which may render a security interest unenforceable, but that care should be taken to properly describe any security interests in loan and security documents. |
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| Seeds Of Conflict - Potential problems with genetically modified crops |
| Both farmers growing genetically modified and standard crops may find themselves facing legal action if GM crops contaminate neighbouring farmers' fields. |
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| Misleading The Customer - Online search engines taken to task |
| A company that recommends health insurance policies via an online search engine on its website and a call centre has been taken to task for engaging in misleading conduct in contravention of the Trade Practices Act. |
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| Online Contracts - eBay auction is binding |
| In a recent case following a sale on eBay, the judge ordered that an auction for a Wirraway Warbird aircraft for the reserve price of $150,000 was binding on the vendor. |
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| Internet Lawsuit - Blogging the enemy |
| A lawsuit has been filed against one of Australia's largest online forums |
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| Damages Claims |
| Limits on liability for injury |
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| Tree Trouble |
| New law lets you go to court |
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| Loss Of Profits - Holding subcontractors responsible |
| A subcontractor's faulty workmanship led to fires in five properties after it failed to properly box some downlights prior to installing insulation. |
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| Liquor Licence - Red light on applications that fail to disclose traffic offences |
| A person's fitness to hold a liquor licence could depend, at least in part, on their traffic record. |
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| Misleading Conduct - Employees found personally liable |
| The courts have recently found employees personally liable for misleading conduct, even though it was conduct in the course of their employment and on behalf of their employer. |
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| Bush Pressure - Complexity of land use and regulations |
| Rural industries are regularly the subject of prosecutions for environmental offences and not many realise how severe the penalties can be. |
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| Warning of Risk - Would you have acted differently? |
| Most people genuinely believe that if given the option of doing something that might allow them to avoid an injury, they would do it. |
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| Litigation Funding - Underwriting your day in court |
| A recent decision in the High Court has legitimised the litigation funding industry. |
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| Court fines company which cleared bushland |
| A company contracted to undertake tree clearing and excavation on a development site was fined $52,000 for removing indigenous bushland, shrubs, sandstone rocks and trees, including two Red Bloodwood trees, whose retention was a condition of development consent. |
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| Purple Haze - Is it misleading to use a rival's signature product colour? |
| In a recent case, Cadbury argued that it had 'substantial, exclusive and valuable' goodwill in its chocolate confectionery business... |
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| Ticking Clock - What's the time limit for making a discrimination claim? |
| When does the clock start ticking if making a claim of unlawful discrimination? |
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| Pyramid Selling - When is it (legal) multi-level marketing? |
| A recent court case has set an important precedent in distinguishing illegal pyramid-selling from legal multi-level marketing. |
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| Contracts- What is an unjust contract? |
| An unjust contract is one that is unconscionable, harsh or oppressive. |
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| Managing Fraud - Businesses need simple, inexpensive preventive measures |
| A survey of companies in Australia and New Zealand has estimated that fraud affects half of all businesses. |
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| Same Rules for different Courts |
| Over the years, there have been a number of attempts to produce common Civil Procedure rules for the three levels of NSW Courts. |
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| Sports Danger |
| Five years ago Jarrod McCracken was injured during a tackle while playing rugby league football. He has not played football since. |
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| Falling Trees - Who has legal responsibility? |
| Various factors may be considered when there is damage fromm a falling tree, but ultimately a court has to decide whether a relevant duty of care has been established, and if it has been breached. |
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| Deals made under duress |
| A compromise agreement that is entered into under economic duress and unconscionable conduct may become unenforceable. |
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| Bankruptcy - Tightening Up The Law |
| Recent changes to the law have made it harder to use bankruptcy as a way of ending financial obligations. |
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| Debt - What should I do with a legal letter of demand? |
| Don't Ignore It |
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| Judge Blows the whistle on Refs |
| Judge says Expert Reference system is overloaded; Judges are now faster than Experts in hearing cases. |
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| Statements made at conciliation may now be admissible in Court |
| If you are involved in an unfair Contract Claim under the Industrial Relations Act NSW, you now need to look more carefully at how you conduct yourself at conciliation. |
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| Out of Court Settlements may be subject to GST |
| The Australian Tax Office has issued a Tax Ruling on the Goods and Services Tax consequences resulting from court orders in and out of court settlements (GST 2001/4). |
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| District Court Judges on Fire |
| The Judges of the District Court (commercial and construction lists) are setting cases down for trial at the earliest opportunity. |
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| Small Claims Limit Increased to $10,000 |
| The Local Court deals with most of the state’s small claims. It has jurisdiction to deal with claims of a monetary limit of up to $40,000.00. Above that, the proceedings go to the District Court or the Supreme Court. From this it is clear that the Local Court has a lot of traffic. |
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| Compulsory Mediation |
| Recent changes to the Supreme Court Rules now mean that, in appropriate circumstances, the court can order parties to mediate whether they wish to or not. |
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| Commercial Unconscionability: ACCC Monitors Dealings Between Larger Businesses And Small Business |
| The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission ("ACCC") is pursuing a number of test cases in the area of commercial unconscionability under s. 51AC of the Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth). This article examines the emerging body of case law dealing with the reprehensible conduct of larger parties against smaller parties. |
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| Privilege Test at Common Law |
| A decision of the High Court confirms that the common law test for legal professional privilege is now the same as the test under the Evidence Act. |
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| Alternative Dispute Resolution - Is it Worth It? |
| Getting involved in litigation is costly and time consuming and, more often than not, there are no winners (don't say "except the lawyers!"). It is for these reasons that the commercial world has been seeking alternative forms of resolving disputes, resulting in what has become known as Alternative Dispute Resolution ("ADR"). This paper explores the ins and outs of ADR. |
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| Costs of Litigation |
| At the end of litigation, the winner is generally awarded costs to be paid by the loser. However, there is usually a substantial difference between a litigant's solicitor's bill, and the amount of costs the loser is ordered to pay the winner. Find out how much you really get. |
