An experienced practitioner who will deliver results for you
SERVICES
CONNECT
Office Christmas parties – Employee traps
Last week I touched on employer traps during the festive season, particularly around the office Christmas party. But the peril of Christmas parties is not all one way and there have been examples of employees doing silly things at Christmas parties and having to face the consequences. One such case involves a Police Officer who […]
Office Christmas parties – Employer traps
Christmas brings with it a flurry of social activity. People regard Christmas as a good time to gather together and celebrate the year just gone. The office or work party is very much a tradition of Christmas. So too is the tradition of drinking too much alcohol and behaving badly. What are some employer traps […]
Save our CTP
The NSW government is proposing radical changes to our Compulsory Third Party (Green Slip) insurance scheme. The current scheme isn’t perfect or cheap. But it ensures that everyone injured in a motor vehicle accident (not just drivers – but passengers, pedestrians and cyclists too) have reasonable access to justice and compensation for their loss. The […]
The reality of wrongful death
The recent media coverage surrounding the death and serious injury of two newborn babies at Bankstown Hospital was understandably met with public horror. How could our health system have failed these families in such a tragic way? Yet these sad circumstances also remind us of a second horror – that our legal system does not […]
Gifts before marriage
The recent NSW Supreme Court decision in Loumbos v Ward [2016] NSWSC 885 reminds us of how the law interprets gifts in contemplation of marriage. Mr Loumbos and Ms Ward were involved in a tempestuous relationship between 2011 and 2013. Mr Loumbos, an often wealthy, sometimes not, man showered Ms Loumbos with gifts over the […]
Be careful of your lie
Last month the Supreme Court ruled in the case of Oei v The Australian Golf Club [2016] NSWSC 846. Dr Oei, a successful sports physician joined The Australian Golf Club in 2007, paying a $20,000 plus joining fee and yearly membership fees. The Club alleged that on two occasions in 2015, Dr Oei was observed […]
The possibility of life after death
In April 2016, the Supreme Court of Queensland ruled in the fascinating case of Re Leith Dorene Patteson [2016] QSC 104. The applicant, Ms Leith Patteson met Mr Tony Deane in August 2015. They commenced a relationship in September 2015, shortly after which Mr Deane was diagnosed with a serious and rare blood disease. The […]
Workers compensation a ‘tricky’ legal scheme, says lawyer
Workers compensation a ‘tricky’ legal scheme, says lawyer 03 May 2016 • By Melissa Coade Lawyers face two main challenges when wading into the complexity of workers compensation claims: a mastery of the facts and applying ever-changing laws, according to the director of Goldbergs Lawyers. Over the course of his 30-year legal career, Michael Moore has witnessed an […]
One small beacon of light for NSW injured workers
The rights of injured workers in NSW have been steadily and dramatically eroded since 2001. The NSW workers compensation system is now at a point where it is acknowledged even by insurers to be unfair, capricious and overly complicated. This is all in the context of the WorkCover fund being seriously in surplus and with […]
To provide DNA or not provide DNA, that is the question.
I recently had a client seek my advice regarding an order the Police made under the Crimes (Forensic Procedures) Act 2000 (“the Act”). The Act enables the Police to “backcapture” DNA, that is, request an individual undergo a forensic procedure to obtain a DNA sample for inclusion on a national database if that individual has previously […]
The idea of a life estate
The Courts recognise that when a spouse dies, it is not always enough for the family home to be left to the surviving spouse by way of a life estate. The idea of a life estate – the right to occupy and use the property during one’s life time – meets with difficulties, particularly in […]
The law requires you to keep your promises
A 2014 decision of the Supreme Court in Bryant v Bryant [2014] NSWSC 374 concerned a dispute about ownership of a family home and whether or not a promise was made to transfer interest in the home. The First and Second Plaintiffs were mother and son. The Defendant was the father of the son and […]
The “blameless” accident
Injuries caused in a motor vehicle accident as a result of the negligence of another driver normally gives rise to an entitlement to compensation and damages. If you are a passenger in a vehicle of the driver of the not at fault vehicle or if you are a pedestrian hit by the at fault vehicle […]
Current High Court
Some people say that the current High Court is one of the most conservative in the history of federation. Which is strange given that four of the current High Court Justices were appointed by ALP governments and only three by LNP governments. This could mean the appointing governments had no eye to the “politics” of […]
McIntyre v O’Regan [2015] NSWSC 1985
A recent decision of the Supreme Court in McIntyre v O’Regan concerned two adult children arguing they were not left with an adequate provision from the deceased’s estate which totalled $1.1 million and that they should be entitled to further provision. Judith McIntyre (“the deceased”) died in June 2014, aged 66 and was survived by […]
ONLINE ENQUIRY