On 22 December 2021, the Federal Court refused an application for an injunction against two former employees of an I.T company. While a decision in respect of an injunction application is not necessarily the same as the final outcome of the dispute, the decision in this case provides useful guidance on the importance of comprehensive […]
Management of companies is generally the responsibility of the directors. Shareholders have very limited options to intervene in the management decisions made by the directors. What happens if a shareholder wants access to company documents which the company won’t provide? Section 247A of the Corporations Act provides an opportunity for a shareholder to ask the […]
In November 2021, the Supreme Court considered yet another claim for further provision by an adult child in respect of his deceased father’s estate. As a child of the deceased, the plaintiff was eligible to bring a family provision claim within 12 months of his father’s death. The value of the estate was around $1,500,000. […]
Your employee has resigned and immediately takes up a position with your competitor. You run to your lawyer frantically waiving the employment contract which includes a restraint of trade saying “they can’t do that! I want an injunction!” Approaching the Court seeking to enforce restraints of trade in employment agreements is not for the […]
Following changes to corporate laws which started in February 2021, new restrictions came into effect on resignation of sole directors and backdating director resignation forms. The changes are aimed at reducing the ability of directors to avoid liability for insolvent trading or other wrongful acts relating to their companies. The changes also seek to limit […]
You can be eligible to make a claim from a deceased estate if you were wholly or partly dependent on the deceased person and at the same time you were a member of the deceased person’s household. If you are within that category, you do not need to be a family member in order to […]
Courts can be frustrating places at times. Dispute resolution through the Court system can be slow, expensive and ultimately not deliver you the result you really wanted or needed. It is important to keep in mind that there are many alternatives to the Court process that may work for you and your circumstances. Mediation involves […]
Residential building is booming in the Hunter and builders are busy. Its increasingly common for homeowners to sign a fixed price contract for the building works but have no actual building work start for 12 to 18 months after the contract is signed. In some cases, shortly before building works are due to start, the […]
If the other party to my contract appoints an administrator, I can get out of that contract, right? Wrong. Most commercial contracts have a termination clause which says something like “if one party appoints an administrator or otherwise experiences an event of insolvency, the other party can elect to terminate the contract”. These types of […]
The Federal Court of Australia has recently handed down its decision in a case where a former gambling addict commenced proceedings against Melbourne’s Crown Casino and poker machine manufacturer Aristocrat, claiming that the poker machine “Dolphin Treasure” was in breach of section 18 of the Australian Consumer Law which prevents conduct that is misleading or […]
