Legal Articles
Old Lease, Extended Lease, New Lease
May 9th, 2017 by | Property & Leases
Can you keep extending a commercial lease? Of course a landlord and tenant can, either by the tenant duly exercising a right of renewal in the tenancy agreement itself, or, when that runs out, by agreement between landlord and tenant for a formal extension. The same terms can be retained, subject to agreed variations on matters… Read more »
Defaming Public Figures
May 3rd, 2017 by | Court Disputes, Peter Jakobsen
In defamation law, there is a defence of Qualified Privilege. A defamatory statement will not make the defendant liable if there was a legal, social or moral interest or duty to say it, and the person spoken-to had a corresponding duty or interest to hear it. And the statement must be reasonably necessary to the… Read more »
Service of Court Process From Overseas
March 29th, 2017 by | Court Disputes, Peter Jakobsen
The world is a smaller place and more and more of us do business overseas, in the United States among other countries, despite the disdain of the US President for certain free trade agreements. But business can, unfortunately, sometimes lead to litigation (which has been described as business by other means). What to do if… Read more »
Expert Evidence
November 22nd, 2016 by | Court Disputes
Generally, the Courts aren’t interested in anyone’s opinion except their own. That is, the Courts are there to hear facts and then deliver their opinion (which is called a Judgment). One major exception to this principle arises in the case of an expert witness. Experts are allowed to give an opinion and have that opinion… Read more »
How Long Does Your Commercial Lease Run?
July 12th, 2016 by | Property & Leases
If you’re a tenant seeking commercial space, or a landlord leasing commercial space, note that the policy of the Retail and Commercial Leases Act 1995 is to give commercial tenants a minimum of 5 years, whatever the lease says. Sections 20B (1) and (2) of the Act state: “(1) The term for which a retail shop… Read more »
Defamation Damages for Internet Abuse
June 2nd, 2016 by | Defamation
In a celebrated recent case, a self-appointed ‘avenger’ styling himself as “The Arbitrator”, complete with website and blog, decided to go on a one-man crusade against Australia’s banks. Fair enough, you might think – the internet can empower the weak against the strong. But such power, like all power, should not be abused. The case… Read more »
Injunction Undertaking as to Damages
April 10th, 2016 by | Court Disputes
We have written on injunctions in general [see our article ‘When Only an Injunction Will Do‘] but want to remind you that generally, if you seek an interim or interlocutory injunction, you will need to give an undertaking as to damages, so that if the injunction turns out (after a trial) to have been granted… Read more »
Standards of Proof in Different Court Cases
January 18th, 2016 by | Court Disputes
When something has to be proved before a Court or Tribunal, the question to be addressed is to what degree (“how much” or “how well”) does it have to be proved? This will depend on the type of case, the issues in the case, and the type of Court or Tribunal. In a criminal matter,… Read more »
Defamation on the Internet – The Secondary Publisher
November 18th, 2015 by | Defamation
Since our June 2015 article, ‘Internet Defamation – Sexy Photos, Lies & Broken Promises’, where we spoke of difficulties in having defamatory material removed from the world wide web, a decision of the SA Supreme Court in Duffy v Google Inc has been delivered (27 October 2015), which is instructive. In that case, various persons… Read more »
Lawyers Obliged to act in Best of Client and Court
September 23rd, 2015 by | Court Disputes
In the film Reversal of Fortune, the actor playing Alan Dershowitz gives an example where a woman on the point of divorcing her husband is suddenly accused of molesting her son. He describes the nightmare fallout – suddenly she is all alone – everyone assumes she is guilty – even the mailman is starting to… Read more »
Tips to Improve Your Chances of Being a Successful Litigant
September 4th, 2015 by | Court Disputes
In our experience, resolving a dispute favourably is usually due to a number of factors. These are some of the factors that contribute to a successful outcome when you have no choice but to litigate. Respect the little things: Most successful entrepreneurs focus on the big picture, but they know that the minutiae must also be covered…. Read more »
Internet Defamation – Sexy Photos, Lies & Broken Promises
June 22nd, 2015 by | Defamation
Recently, this firm successfully helped a client to demand the removal of a defamatory blog from the internet by the server company. This is easier said than done, for in the world of the internet, complex legal questions arise as to where publication occurred, where proceedings can be brought and whether an internet server can… Read more »
Mediation – Why Bother?
May 22nd, 2015 by | Court Disputes
In legal disputes, mediation is often raised as an alternative to Court proceedings. Why? Why not leave it to the Judge or, alternatively, simply sit down with the enemy and arrange a truce over a coffee? Let’s look at these possibilities – trial or negotiation – and come back to mediation. The Trial Model The… Read more »
ICAC: What Amounts to “Corrupt” Conduct?
April 24th, 2015 by | Court Disputes
The NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption was established in 1988 under Premier Greiner, who later, famously, lost office due to one of its investigations. The NSW ICAC has become famous, and some may say notorious, more so in light of its recent investigation into a senior Crown prosecutor, Ms Cunneen SC. The High Court delivered… Read more »
Ostensible Authority
March 19th, 2015 by | Commercial Transactions, Court Disputes
Ostensible authority of an agent is imposed by the law as a way of preventing a principal from repudiating a deal instituted by someone who appeared to have authority for that principal where it would be unconscionable to a third party to do so. If a principal (P) such as a corporation, partnership or an individual uses a person… Read more »
