by Terry Broomfield | Sep 1, 2012 | Uncategorised
Everingham Solomons are pleased to announce that once again a Tamworth, Quirindi, Gunnedah or Manilla Year 12 student wishing to undertake university study in Law will have a valuable opportunity to receive the benefits of our Law Bursary.
The Sir Adrian Solomons Memorial Law Bursary was first given in 1998. It provides financial assistance for the successful applicant during their first year as well as an opportunity to gain valuable work experience in our offices periodically throughout the duration of their studies.
All Principals of local High Schools have been contacted and advised of the details. Interested students should liaise with the Principal or Careers Advisor of their school, who will assist them in making a formal application for this Bursary.… Read More
by Clint Coles | Aug 25, 2012 | Uncategorised
If you are owed money by someone then you have the right and opportunity to recover that money through the court system.
If the amount of money owing is less than $10,000 the claim will generally be heard in the small claims division of the local court, which uses simplified rules to quickly and efficiently resolve the matter.
The process is initiated when a statement of claim is filed in the court and then served on the party that owes the money (‘debtor’). It is important that the statement of claim be drafted competently as it provides to the debtor an outline of the claim that they must meet.… Read More
by Rebecca Greenland | Aug 4, 2012 | Uncategorised
Obtaining registration of trademark can be a lengthy and at times costly process. Creating an intellectual property right from the seed of an idea is however a worthwhile pursuit – provided all the hard work doesn’t go to waste by your failure to use it.
IP Australia, the government agency responsible for administering intellectual property rights and legislation, is warning holders of trademarks to use their IP or risk losing their rights – failure to utilise your intellectual property can see a person or company apply to have your trademark removed from the register.
An application for removal can be commenced if you have not utilised your trademark for a period of three years, or if you did not have an intention of using the trademark when you filed your application for approval (as evidenced by never having utilised your trademark).… Read More
by Mark Johnson | Jul 7, 2012 | Uncategorised
In a judgment handed down on 20 April 2012 in Roadshow Films v iiNet, the High Court unanimously found that iiNet did not breach copyright when its customers carried out illegal downloading via their iiNet accounts because, while iiNet may have known of the illegal downloading, it did not “authorize” that conduct by its customers. Well, of course it didn’t and the Court, which, with great respect, is made up of eminently sensible men and women with better than room temperature IQs was not fooled for a moment by the tortured arguments advanced by the copyright owners.
So, the copyright owners continue in a terrible flap about illegal downloading. … Read More
by Sara Burnheim | Jun 30, 2012 | Uncategorised
Relocation is a term used in family law proceedings when one parent wants to change where they live and take the children with them. For the Court to determine whether the children can move with that parent to a location sometimes hundreds of kilometers away from the other parent, the Court needs to consider many issues. One of the primary considerations that they take into account is whether the children can still continue to have a meaningful relationship with the other parent.
The recent decision of Lorreck & Watts [2012] FamCAFC 75 is one such case whereby the mother wanted to move from Canberra to Cairns and the Court had to determine whether this would be in the best interests of the children.… Read More
by Lesley McDonnell | Jun 23, 2012 | Uncategorised
The NSW Treasurer has announced changes to State taxes and grants which are being heralded as “the most generous scheme in Australia”. Let us examine three key changes.
Firstly, from 1 July 2012, the New Home Grant of $5,000 will be provided to buyers of new homes, whether off the plan or newly built, up to the value of $650,000. The same grant will be available to buyers of vacant land up to the value of $450,000 upon which a new home is to be built. This incentive is open to non-first home buyers and investors alike.
A new home is a home that has not been previously occupied or sold as a place of residence, and includes a home that is a substantially renovated home.… Read More
by Clint Coles | Jun 16, 2012 | Uncategorised
What happens if you enter into a contract on the basis of some representation made by the other party, and you later find that representation to be untrue?
If the representation is included as a term of the contract, the remedy is straightforward, as an action for breach of that contractual provision will usually lie.
If the representation was not included as a term of the contract, but instead existed as a statement made prior to, and separate from, the contract document, the legal rights arising are a little more complicated.
If a false statement is made about a material fact and the purpose of that statement was to induce the other party into entering the contract, then the principal of misrepresentation arises.… Read More
by Mark Johnson | Jun 9, 2012 | Uncategorised
The starting point is that restraint of trade clauses are prima facie invalid because they infringe public policy, which holds, quite understandably, that a person should not be able to stand in the way of another person earning a living.
However, under the Restraints of Trade Act 1976 (NSW), a restraint clause will not be invalid if it was reasonable in all the circumstances at the time that it was made.
When deciding the validity of a restraint clause, the Court will ask whether the person seeking to impose the restraint (usually an employer or the incoming purchaser of a business) has a legitimate interest to protect and whether the restraint amounts to reasonable protection of that interest.… Read More
by Clint Coles | Apr 7, 2012 | Uncategorised
The Criminal Procedure Acts sets strict time limits in which a person must be charged for a summary offence.
Summary offences are those crimes of lesser severity which must be finalized in a local court by a magistrate. Summary offences have a maximum penalty of two years imprisonment or less.
If a person is accused of a summary offence, the police must commence their proceedings against the accused person within six months of the date that the offence was said to have been committed. There are however exceptions to this general rule.
This means that two dates become critical. The first is the time of the alleged offence and the second is the time that the proceedings are commenced.… Read More
by Mark Johnson | Mar 3, 2012 | Uncategorised
The strictness of the law relating to the sale of real estate in NSW can have devastating consequences for a successful purchaser at an auction.
It is possible for a purchaser to be the highest bidder after the reserve has been reached or the auctioneer announces that the property is on the market, have it knocked down to him or her and then end up with nothing. It is terrible because the purchaser will have gone to great trouble and spent money on preparing for the auction but, more than this, it is terrible because the joy of being the winning bidder is snatched away so quickly.… Read More
