Standard residential construction contracts entitle a builder upon completion of a nominated stage defined in the contract to submit a payment claim. If the stage payment claim is not paid, the builder has various options available, such as suspension of the building work, referral to mediation and ultimately, termination of the contract. Before terminating a contract in reliance upon non-payment of a stage payment claim, it is imperative the stage relied upon has in fact been completed. Termination of a contract midway through its performance has, for both parties, significant legal and financial implications which can quickly overshadow any initial dispute between them. [Read more…]
Contractual terms can be misleading – Jetstar under fire
June 10, 2019 by
Businesses often make broad sweeping statements, in their agreements and particularly in the terms and conditions of sale presented on their websites purporting to exclude consumer’s rights to warranties, guarantees or remedies. In reality, such declarations can amount to a breach of the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) which recently occurred in relation to Jetstar. [Read more…]
Unfair preferences – the Doctrine of Ultimate Effect
April 4, 2019 by
Under section 588FA of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), an unfair preference is defined as a transaction, such as payment of an outstanding debt, between a company and a unsecured creditor which results in that unsecured creditor receiving more than it would have received if it had to prove in the winding up of the debtor company. It is unfair because the payment the debt results in the net value of the assets of the debtor company being reduced, to the detriment of the body of unsecured creditors as a whole. [Read more…]
Workplace Bullying by a Body Corporate
March 27, 2019 by
Section 789FA of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the FWA) enables a worker who has been bullied at work to apply to the Fair Work Commission (FWC) for an order to stop the bullying. For the purposes of the FWA, reasonable management action taken in a reasonable way will not constitute workplace bullying.
A body corporate rarely directly employs workers. Usually, an onsite care-taking service contractor is engaged (typically a company) to perform on-site duties such as grounds maintenance and the like, those duties normally being discharged by the company’s directors or employees engaged by the company. [Read more…]
Security for legal costs in cross-claims for patent invalidity
March 25, 2019 by
The usual position in relation to security for costs in disputes before the Federal Court of Australia is that a respondent (including a cross-respondent) may make an application for security for its legal costs to insulate itself if it is successful in defending the allegations made by an applicant against it. What is the situation regarding security for costs where a respondent ‘cross-claims’ for revocation of a patent because it alleges that it is invalid and should never have been granted in the first place? [Read more…]
Unfair preferences and unperfected security interests
February 13, 2019 by
Take the scenario where your company has supplied a customer with goods on credit. The standard terms and conditions of supply grant your company security over the goods supplied until they are paid for. In order for that security to be perfected, the interest granted needed to be registered on the Personal Property Security Register (PPSR). If for example, the interest was not registered or if it was, it was invalid for technical reasons then your company may be at risk. [Read more…]
Is your patent being infringed?
February 9, 2019 by
A patent grants the owner (Patentee) exclusive rights to exploit the patented invention (as defined in the Patents Act 1990 (Cth) (Patents Act)) within Australia. If another party uses the patent without the authorisation of the Patentee, they will infringe. In this article we consider the high level issues to consider when attempting to determine whether a patent has been infringed. [Read more…]
Top ways to avoid a building dispute in Queensland
December 19, 2018 by
From a property owner’s point of view, the vision for the project is finally coming to fruition. From a builder’s point of view, another profit-making job is about to commence……
It is not uncommon for the seeds of a building dispute to already have been sown before a shovel even breaks ground. Observing the following simple pieces of advice can go a long way towards avoiding a building dispute in the first place. [Read more…]
A director’s duty to act in the best interests of the company: MG Corrosion Consultants Pty Ltd v Gilmour
December 3, 2018 by
The case of MG Corrosion Consultants Pty Ltd v Gilmour [2014] FCA 990 involved allegations of a director authorising unnecessary and excessive payments that caused detriment to a company and its shareholders. This case serves as a reminder to directors of the importance of adhering to their duties under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) (Corporations Act).
The ‘good faith’ defence to an unfair preference claim
October 25, 2018 by
This is the third article in our series on Unfair Preference payments. The scenario that is common is that a business does the work or delivers the goods, invoices its customer and is eventually paid. Three months later the business owner receives a letter from a liquidator demanding under threat of legal action that they be paid the money received on the basis the payment received was an unfair preference (Unfair Preference). [Read more…]
B.Bus.,MBA.,LL.B.
