court

What is an Injunction?

An injunction is a Court order directing a person or entity to do a specific thing or not to do a something.

Most injunctions are temporary and are often made pending the outcome of a full hearing (known as an “interlocutory injunction“). An example may be to restrain a former employee from doing work for former clients where they have agreed to post-employment restraints pending a hearing on whether the restraint is lawful or to prohibit the publication of a potentially defamatory article in a newspaper or television program.

A Court will not grant an interlocutory injunction unless:

  • the Plaintiff has made out a “prima facie” case – a sufficient likelihood of success to justify in the circumstances the preservation of the status quo pending the trial – or established that there is a serious question to be heard;
  • the balance of convenience favours the granting of the injunction; and
  • the Plaintiff provides “the usual undertaking as to damages” (that they will pay any damages the restrained party suffers if at a final hearing the Court determines that the injunction wasn’t justified).

A Court has discretion as to whether to make such an order and will consider thongs like whether or not you have asked the other party to do/not do the relevant thing, whether damages would be an appropriate remedy, if you have waited too long to seek the order etc.

Where an injunction is sought from a Court without the affected party being notified, this is known as an “ex-parte injunction” as it is made in the absence of a party. They are for that reason only temporary and the Court requires the applicant to disclose all relevant facts to the case, including those that may lead to refusal of the application, not just those in favour of the injunction as there is no respondent in Court to oppose it. Examples can be “freezing orders” that stop the sale of assets or to freeze a bank account to preserve them pending the Court’s further orders.

Mandatory injunctions can be obtained where for example a party to a contract refuses to comply with their lawful obligations under it. An example of this is a party to a Contract for the Sale of Land that unlawfully refuses to sign a Transfer in registrable form. Such an injunction imposes a positive obligation on the affected party to do something, not just stopping them from doing something.

FURTHER INFORMATION

For further information in relation to business succession, estate planning, litigation and dispute resolution or any commercial law matter, contact McKillop Legal on (02) 9521 2455 or email help@mckilloplegal.com.au

This information is general only and is not a substitute for proper legal advice. Please contact McKillop Legal to discuss your commercial law needs.

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in Business / Commercial Law / Debt Recovery / Dispute Resolution / Employment / General / Insolvency & Bankruptcy / Intellectual Property / Litigation / Property  by 01 Jun 2025 0 comments

Caveat on Probate

If you have an interest in the estate of a deceased person, and:

  • wish to challenge the validity of a Will, for example:
    • as it is informal (in that it doesn’t comply with the usual requirements for execution); or
    • because you genuinely believe it to be a forgery;
  • have serious doubts as to the testamentary capacity of the person that made the Will at the time it was made;
  • have evidence of a later document purporting to be the deceased person’s Will; or perhaps
  • claim that a Will was executed under undue influence or pressure,

then there is a process by which you can put the Court and the person propounding that Will in an Application for Probate or Letters of Administration with the Will Annexed on notice.

That process is basically, before the Court makes a grant, to:

  • formally file with the Court; and
  • serve on the known or potential applicant

a document called a “Caveat on Probate“.

The effect of a Caveat on Probate is that the Court will not make a grant of Probate in the estate without notice to the person who lodged it.

An executor that wants to proceed with an application for a grant of Probate can apply to the Court for a Caveat to be removed if they believe that the caveator has no standing or that there is no real dispute as to the validity of the Will. In such contested proceedings for probate, they are to be commenced by Statement of Claim seeking the grant in solemn form and the other parties may file Cross Claims as appropriate.

Obviously, there can be costs consequences that flow from improperly taking this step so advice ought to be taken before doing so.

Note that the Caveat on Probate is not the appropriate step to take if you do not challenge the validity of the Will but want to seek a family provision order.

FURTHER INFORMATION

For further information, please contact McKillop Legal on (02) 9521 2455 or email help@mckilloplegal.com.au 

This information is general only and is not a substitute for proper legal advice. Please contact McKillop Legal to discuss your needs.

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in Dispute Resolution / Estate Planning / Litigation / Probate  by 01 Sep 2024 0 comments

Family provision orders

Under the Succession Act 2006 (NSW), eligible persons may apply to the Supreme Court of New South Wales for a family provision order in relation to the estate or notional* estate of a deceased person to provide “for their maintenance, education or advancement in life”.

The first hurdle to overcome is being an “eligible person” and the second is whether the provision (if any) made for the applicant in the deceased’s Will** is adequate, and if not, what “family provision order” could be made to make it adequate. Unfortunately, this process is not as simple as we have explained it.

Limitation period

Claims for provision must be made within 12 months of the date of death of the deceased person (although in limited circumstanced, this time limit can be extended).

Process

After proceedings are commenced and the parties have put on the majority of their evidence, applications for family provision orders are generally referred to either a Court annexed mediation or to private mediation but if no agreement can be reached, the matter will be set down for hearing.

Eligibility

Those who are “eligible” to make a claim for a family provision order out of a deceased person’s estate include:

  • a spouse of the deceased at the time of the deceased’s death;
  • a former spouse of the deceased;
  • a person in a de facto relationship with the deceased at the time of death
  • children (including adopted children) of the deceased;
  • someone with whom the deceased was in a close personal relationship*** with at the time of their death;
  • those who have, at any time, been wholly or partly dependent upon the deceased and who either:
    • are a grandchild of the deceased; or
    • were, at any time, member of a household of which the deceased a member.

How do you know if you are to receive an inheritance?

Click here to read about how to get a copy of a deceased person’s will.

Adequacy

The Court won’t simply rewrite a deceased person’s Will based on claims of justice or unfairness such as unequally dividing an estate between siblings. The Court has a wide discretion in determining these matters and the nature of any order for provision that may be made.

The Court first considers if the gift (if any) was adequate and if not, what provision may be adequate.

The Court exercises is discretion to make an order and if so, on what terms, after considering the following factors:

  1. any family or other relationship between the applicant and the deceased, including the nature and duration of the relationship,
  2. the nature and extent of any obligations or responsibilities owed by the deceased to the applicant, to any other person in respect of whom an application has been made for a family provision order or to any beneficiary of the deceased’s estate,
  3. the nature and extent of the deceased’s estate (including any property that is, or could be, designated as notional estate* of the deceased person) and of any liabilities or charges to which the estate is subject, as in existence when the application is being considered,
  4. the financial resources (including earning capacity) and financial needs, both present and future, of the applicant, of any other person in respect of whom an application has been made for a family provision order or of any beneficiary of the deceased person’s estate (that is the competing needs/claims of others),
  5. if the applicant is cohabiting with another person–the financial circumstances of the other person,
  6. any physical, intellectual or mental disability of the applicant, any other person in respect of whom an application has been made for a family provision order or any beneficiary of the deceased’s estate that is in existence when the application is being considered or that may reasonably be anticipated,
  7. the age of the applicant when the application is being considered,
  8. any contribution (whether financial or otherwise) by the applicant to the acquisition, conservation and improvement of the estate of the deceased person or to the welfare of the deceased or the deceased’s family, whether made before or after the deceased’s death, for which adequate consideration (not including any pension or other benefit) was not received, by the applicant,
  9. any provision made for the applicant by the deceased, either during the deceased’s life or made from the deceased’s estate,
  10. any evidence of the testamentary intentions of the deceased, including evidence of statements made by the deceased,
  11. whether the applicant was being maintained, either wholly or partly, by the deceased before the deceased’s death and, if the Court considers it relevant, the extent to which and the basis on which the deceased did so,
  12. whether any other person is liable to support the applicant,
  13. the character and conduct of the applicant before and after the date of the deceased’s death,
  14. the conduct of any other person before and after the date of the deceased’s death,
  15. any relevant Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander customary law,
  16. any other matter the Court considers relevant, including matters in existence at the time of the deceased’s death or at the time the application is being considered.

*Where assets that were previously assets of the deceased prior to death (such as assets gifted or transferred by the deceased to another person or entity prior to death to attempt to avoid an application for an order for provision, superannuation, property owned as joint tenants between the deceased and another person), be considered as an asset of the estate for the purposes of an application for a family provision order.

**Note that even in intestacy (where there is no Will), an application can be made for a family provision order.

*** A “close personal relationship” is a relationship other than a marriage or a de facto relationship between two adult persons, whether or not related by family, who are living together, one or each of whom provides the other with domestic support and personal care but not for reward or on behalf of another person or organization.

FURTHER INFORMATION

For further information in relation to Wills, Probate, Intestacy, Estate Planning or even International Wills, please contact McKillop Legal on (02) 9521 2455 or email help@mckilloplegal.com.au 

This information is general only and is not a substitute for proper legal advice. Please contact McKillop Legal to discuss your needs.

Stay up to date – LinkedIn | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

in Dispute Resolution / Estate Planning / General / Litigation / Probate / Property  by 01 Jul 2021 0 comments

Uncollected goods: is possession 9/10 of the law?

If you are a business that cleans or repairs items that are never collected by a customer or if you are a lessor of a commercial property* and a tenant leaves items behind, you may wonder what your rights and obligations are in relation to those uncollected goods.

Is possession 9/10 of the law? Well, sort of. Often it can depend on the terms of trade agreed between the business and the customer (for example a retention of title clause, a lien** or other similar provisions), but assuming it hasn’t been agreed or if there are agreed terms but there is no unpaid account, what is the position?

If there is no contract to govern what happens then the Uncollected Goods Act 1995 (NSW) will likely apply. That Act allows the business holding the goods (bailee) to sell them if they are uncollected by the owner of the goods (bailor) or if the bailee can’t contact the bailor.

How the goods may be disposed of, and what notice needs to be given, depends on their type and value.  For example, if the goods are worth:

  • less than $100, the business owner needs to give the customer 28 days verbal or written notice of an intention to dispose of the goods. If the customer doesn’t respond or collect the goods in that time, the business owner can dispose of them they see fit;
  • more than $100 but less than $500, the business owner needs to give the customer and each other person that claims an interest in the goods 3 months written notice of an intention to dispose of them. If the customer doesn’t respond or collect them within 3 months, the business owner can dispose of them by private sale for ‘fair value’ or public auction;
  • more than $500 but less than $5,000 the business owner needs to give the customer and each other person that claims an interest in the goods 6 months written notice of an intention to dispose of the goods. If the customer doesn’t respond or collect them in the 6 month period, the business owner can dispose of them by public auction provided that the business owner publishes a copy of the notice in a daily newspaper circulating generally throughout NSW at least 28 days before the 6 months notice is to end;
  • more than $5,000, the business owner needs a Court order to dispose of the goods; and
  • Perishable goods are dealt with differently any only require a ‘reasonable’ amount of notice, the length of which depends on the nature and condition of the goods.

What should the notice state?

Broadly speaking, a notice regarding uncollected goods must include:

  • the business name;
  • a description of the goods;
  • an address where the goods can be collected;
  • a statement of any relevant charges (eg freight and storage costs) and if the business is planning to take money out of the sale to cover those charges;
  • a statement that on or after a specified date, the goods will be sold or kept unless they are first collected and the relevant charges are paid.

No profit

When the goods are sold, the bailee can only recover the cost of the original service being provided if unpaid, the costs of the sale and any maintenance, insurance and storage costs. The bailee is not allowed to make a profit on the sale of the uncollected goods.

Any surplus if the bailor can’t be found or won’t take it, must be paid, as unclaimed money, to Revenue NSW. What a pain!

* There is specific legislation relating to the disposal of goods held by a pawnbroker (Pawnbrokers and Second-Hand Dealers Act 1996 (NSW), Part 4, s.30), goods left by a tenant (Residential Tenancies Act 2010 (NSW), Part 6 Division 2) or resident of a retirement village (Retirement Villages Act 1999 (NSW), Part 9, Division 7). Some assets can require additional steps to dispose of such as motor vehicles (for example the Commissioner of Police has issued a certificate stating that the vehicle is not recorded as stolen) and may require a Personal Property Securities Register Search.

** A lien is a common law right to retain possession of an item until an account is paid (such as a mechanics lien to keep a car until the repair bill is paid for), but it can be confirmed in an agreement.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Craig Pryor is principal solicitor at McKillop Legal. For further information in relation to uncollected goods, your rights or obligations under a contract or arrangement or any other commercial law matter, contact Craig Pryor on (02) 9521 2455 or email craig@mckilloplegal.com.au.

This information is general only and is not a substitute for proper legal advice. Please contact McKillop Legal to discuss your needs.

Stay up to date – LinkedIn | Facebook | Twitter

 

in Business / Commercial Law / Debt Recovery / Dispute Resolution / General / Insolvency & Bankruptcy / Property / Risk management  by 05 May 2020 0 comments

Forcing the sale of land in NSW

Where land is owned by multiple people (whether as joint tenants or tenants in common), any one of the owners can approach the Supreme Court to seek an order for the appointment of a trustee for sale and for the property to be sold.

Ordinarily, the owners can come to agreement on the need for a sale and the basis on which it is to be conducted. For example, following some negotiations or a mediation, the co-owners may agree to:

  • sale by auction with an agreed reserve price;
  • sale by public treaty with an agreed price; or
  • sale by one owner to another, with agreement on how the price is determined (such as agreeing on a valuer or methodology).

When co-owners are in a dispute however as to whether a property should be sold, when and on what terms, the provisions of section 66G of the Conveyancing Act 1919 (NSW) can be utilized to force the sale of the property, even where the other owner (or owners) do not want to sell it.

Once appointed, the trustee has the legal power to sell the property on the best terms available and to engage real estate agents, valuers and lawyers/conveyancers as may be required. So as to help ensure that the property sells for fair market value and to avoid any breach of trust allegations from any of the owners for not obtaining the best price possible, it is sensible for a trustee to sell at public auction

A usual order made is that the unsuccessful party (usually the defendant/respondent) pays the plaintiff /applicant’s legal costs. The costs risk arising from litigation (which can be substantial in amount) is usually a key factor in out of court settlements being made.

Applications for the appointment of a statutory trustee for sale are generally only refused in special circumstances, such as where the is a prior agreement not to sell, around the terms of any sale or to sell only when certain conditions are met (which is why any co-ownership agreements ought to be in writing as verbal evidence can be less persuasive).

Usually, after a successful application is made and the property is sold, the proceeds of sale after payment of:

  • any encumbrances (such as mortgages and unregistered mortgages secured by caveats);
  • the costs of sale (real estate agent and auctioneer fees and marketing costs etc); and
  • the trustee’s costs

are held on trust by the appointed trustee and then distributed proportionally according to ownership.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Craig Pryor is principal solicitor at McKillop Legal. For further information in relation to family disagreements in relation to land or estates or any business or commercial dispute, contact Craig Pryor on (02) 9521 2455 or email craig@mckilloplegal.com.au.

This information is general only and is not a substitute for proper legal advice. Please contact McKillop Legal to discuss your legal needs.

Stay up to date – LinkedIn | Facebook | Twitter

in Business / Commercial Law / Dispute Resolution / General / Property / Trusts  by 01 Oct 2018 0 comments

How does jury service work?

Jury service plays an important role in our justice system. Juries are used to ensure that legal verdicts are impartial and in line with community standards of behaviour.


The jury system in New South Wales is administered by the Jury Services Branch of the Office of the Sheriff of New South Wales, operating in accordance with the Jury Act 1977 and the Jury Amendment Act 2010.

WHAT DOES A JURY DO?

Juries are used in the District and Supreme Courts of New South Wales to:
  • hear and determine more serious criminal matters
  • hear and determine civil matters involving large monetary claims
  • participate in coronial inquests in the New South Wales Coroner’s Court.

In criminal trials, a jury hears evidence, applies the law as directed by the judge, and decides if a person is guilty or not guilty of a crime, based on the facts. A jury does not participate in the sentencing process.


In most criminal trials, 12 people are selected to be on the jury. Up to 15 jurors can be empanelled if a trial is expected to last longer than 3 months. To be ‘empanelled’ means to be chosen for a specific trial.

Civil trials which require juries are usually defamation proceedings. The trial judge will outline the issues the jury needs to consider to decide who is at fault. A civil trial jury is typically comprised of 4 jurors however, in the Supreme Court, 12 jurors may be ordered.

HOW IS A JURY SELECTED?

There are 3 steps to jury selection:
  1. Inclusion on the jury roll
  2. Receiving a jury summons
  3. Jury selection and empanelling

People who sit as jurors in a particular trial have gone through all 3 steps.

Each year, the names of around 200,000 potential jurors are randomly selected from the New South Wales Electoral Roll (the list of registered voters) and included on a jury roll. Notices of Inclusion are sent out to tell people they are on the jury roll. This is a list of people who could be selected for jury service in the next 12 months.

Approximately 150,000 people on the roll are sent a jury summons notice at some point in the year. This notice requires them to come to court, where they may be selected as a juror for a specific trial.

Out of these, only about 9,000 people a year are selected to serve on jury panels for specific trials. They are then empanelled as jurors.

You can ask to be excused from jury service for various reasons, including the kind of work you do, personal circumstances or because you are away from the state.

There are several categories of people that are excluded from being on a jury (such as lawyers, judges, members of parliament, policemen etc) and others who may be exempted from being on a jury (such as doctors, firemen, members of the clergy, the ill and those who have been on a jury in the last 3 years etc).

DO YOU GET PAID?

If you are selected as a juror, you will get paid an allowance for attending (only if for more than half a day) plus a travel allowance. This is intended to reduce any financial hardship you may incur by serving as a juror, but is not intended to be equal to your normal wage or salary payment – it is effectively a public service obligation on all citizens of New South Wales.

The amount you are paid depends on the length of the trial and whether you are currently employed or not employed. People who are not employed include carers, stay at home parents, retirees and unemployed people.

The present entitlement are:

The travel allowance is calculated on the distance from your postcode to the courthouse and is presently paid at the rate of 30.7c/Km.

Allowances are paid weekly by electronic funds transfers to your nominated bank account. You will be given details to log onto juror.nsw.gov.au and enter your bank account details prior to your court attendance.

WHAT ABOUT EMPLOYERS?

The allowance paid to jurors is not intended to be a substitute for a salary or wage.

Under the Fair Work Act 2009, an employer is required to pay full-time or part-time staff for the first 10 days of jury service.

Employers cannot:
  • force employees to take own leave, such as recreation or sick leave, while doing jury service;
  • dismiss, injure or alter their employees position for doing jury service;
  • ask employees to work on any day that they are serving as jurors; or
  • ask employees to do additional hours or work to make up for time that they missed as a result of jury service.

 

FURTHER INFORMATION
Craig Pryor  is principal solicitor at McKillop Legal. For further information in relation to jury duty or any court/litigation related matter, contact Craig Pryor on (02) 9521 2455 or email craig@mckilloplegal.com.au.
in Business / Employment / General / Litigation  by 28 Jul 2017 0 comments