Legal Articles
Can Coronavirus Cause Frustration Of Contract?
March 26th, 2020 by | Commercial Transactions
We may all be frustrated with the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) crisis, but can it lead to frustration of contract, where either party may be entitled to terminate? It might. For example, if you bought a ticket to the football or a show, apart from getting the price of your ticket back, you can’t sue for loss… Read more »
Freedom of Speech, Social Media and the Employment Contract
August 15th, 2019 by | Defamation, Employment
MUTE THOSE THOUGHTS! In the eternal struggle between individual liberty and social cohesion, one aspect where this is now playing out involves freedom of expression vs contractual obligations to employers and the arena is Social Media. The famous Australian rugby player, Israel Folau, sent out this Instagram post: “Warning – Drunks, Homosexuals, Adulterers, Liars, Fornicators,… Read more »
Set Aside a Statutory Demand – Act Fast!
July 31st, 2019 by | Court Disputes, Debt Collection
Have you received a Statutory Demand and not sure what to do? We stress the need for absolute precision within an absolutely finite time in applying to set aside a Statutory Demand. A Statutory Demand is a statement, in a particular form, that a company owes a sum of money and that there is no… Read more »
All About The Defamation Time Limit
May 31st, 2019 by | Defamation
Don’t Let Sleeping Slanders Lie The old law stated that in an action for defamation (to use the old language, libel and slander), the aggrieved party had six (6) years to sue. However, the defamation time limit was drastically changed in the noughties by legislative reforms to defamation law across the Australian States. In this… Read more »
Secret Recordings of Private Conversations
September 4th, 2018 by | Court Disputes
A recent South Australian Supreme Court decision – Nanosecond Corporation v Glen Carron (2018) has clarified the critical aspects of the Surveillance Devices Act 2016 as to the use of secret recordings of private conversations in civil litigation. In Nanosecond, a plaintiff had used his mobile phones to record 20 conversations with various persons in… Read more »
Facebook Defamation In the Comments Section
July 31st, 2018 by | Defamation
In this digital age that we live in, social media and the internet have no doubt changed the way we communicate and interact with one another. At the touch of a button, you can reach hundreds of people with your opinions and comments. So when it comes to negative comments, what constitutes Facebook defamation and… Read more »
Statutory Demand Gets Debtor Company to Pay
July 17th, 2018 by | Court Disputes, Debt Collection
We have spoken before about the critical 21 day time limit of a statutory demand (see: “How to deal with a Statutory Demand” and “Statutory Demand: the 21 day guillotine”) which is often ignored by a debtor company and generally results in payment of the debt, costs and interest. Debtor Company Has 21 Days to… Read more »
Defamation: Malice – When is it Important?
May 11th, 2018 by | Defamation
If someone defames you, legal liability generally doesn’t depend upon whether that was malicious or not. It generally doesn’t matter if it was intentional or not. (Actual malice can be relevant to damages, however, as an aggravating element). Malice irrelevant Bill sends a general-public Facebook message that says “Mike Savile is a pedo”. Mike sues… Read more »
Drawing the Line: Finality in Litigation
March 27th, 2018 by | Court Disputes
The Court promotes finality in litigation. That is, once a Court has given a judgment which is ‘perfected’ (broadly speaking, a court’s equivalent to ‘signed, sealed and delivered’), then the matter is over. This is subject to certain exceptions, the most significant of which are: (1) a statutory right of appeal; and (2) a right… Read more »
SA Supreme Court – Importance of Reasons for Decision
March 20th, 2018 by | Court Disputes
Justice must not only be done; it must be seen to be done. One key part of that commandment is that a court, when reaching a decision, must give reasons for that decision. Why is it Important for Courts to Provide Reasons? A court hearing any appeal from, or judicial review of, the decision needs… Read more »
Defamation or Malicious Falsehood – What’s the Difference?
March 8th, 2018 by | Court Disputes, Defamation
Defamation and malicious falsehood do overlap in the court of law. While defamation is more widely known and actioned, malicious falsehood is an alternative. Malicious falsehood (also known as injurious falsehood) differs from defamation (which injures personal reputations). Malicious falsehood is a lie about someone’s goods, business, or assets (e.g., X lies that trader Y’s… Read more »
Acquiring Land By Time
August 8th, 2017 by | Property & Leases
In South Australia, we follow the Torrens title system as devised by the great Sir Robert Torrens. In essence, this means a person with an interest and estate in land acquires it by registration. Thus the Torrens title system is referred to as ‘title by registration’ rather than ‘registration of title.’ A person with a… Read more »
Plain (and Clear) English Legal Documents
July 26th, 2017 by | Commercial Transactions
When a lawyer draws a Deed describing an agreement between parties and how that agreement is to be carried out, the Deed will often follow a traditional format. First, the Deed will contain “Recitals” (sometimes styled as “Background” or “Objectives”) which set out the narrative or background to the agreement contained in the Deed. The… Read more »
Statutory Demand: The 21 Day Guillotine
July 18th, 2017 by | Court Disputes, Debt Collection
In a previous article (How to Deal With a Statutory Demand), we assured you that the 21 day window to apply (by filing the application and serving it on the applying creditor) to set aside a Statutory Demand could not be extended. The scheme set up by the Corporations Act is strict and inflexible on… Read more »
Lease Term Extended by SA Court Order
May 29th, 2017 by | Commercial Transactions, Court Disputes, Property & Leases
Recently, Beger & Co Lawyers acted for commercial tenants who were being evicted by their landlord because their lease arrangements were coming to an end. Despite vigorous opposition by the landlord, our clients won a Court Order to extend their lease term so that they can stay in their shop for at least 5 years…. Read more »
