Media

Archived publications
2007

Please contact Norma Binding at Rigby Cooke for more information about Publication items
T 03 9321 7852
E nbinding@rigbycooke.com.au

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26 Oct 2007
Friday Facts: Liquidator banned for ten years
Mary Nemeth, Partner

In the recent Supreme Court of Victoria case of Australian Securities Commission (“ASIC”) v Robert John Edge (“Mr Edge”) [2007] VSC 170, Justice Dodds-Streeton inquired into the conduct of Mr Edge, a registered liquidator after ASIC brought proceedings against him under Section 536 of the Corporations Act (Cth) (the “Act”).

12 Oct 07
Friday Facts: The effects of bankruptcy on proceedings
Mary Nemeth, Partner

Quite often clients ask what the effect of bankruptcy is on legal proceedings. The answer is not always a simple one and can be difficult to determine in certain circumstances.

08 Oct 07
Customs and Trade Law Update: Obligation of importers, exporters and customs brokers to retain documents
Philip Sheezel, Consultant

Obligations of importers, exporters and customs brokers to retain documents.

08 Oct 07
Tax Update
By the Rigby Cooke Tax and Superannuation Team

So far it has been another big year for legislative and case law developments in taxation, and we set out some of the more interesting recent developments in this Update, including 2007 Measures No 5 Act and recent cases such as Tyco Australia Pty Limited v Commissioner of Taxation and Tolich v FCT.

Oct 07
Tax Update
By the Rigby Cooke Tax and Superannuation Team

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) announced its compliance priorities for the 2007-08 year with the release of the Compliance Program 2007-08. This Update looks at details of the Commissioner of Taxation’s 16 August speech, including part of his “high level summary” of this Compliance Program.

04 Oct 07
Building and Construction Update: Are the Chinese walls crumbling?
Justin Cotton, Associate

NSW building professionals need to be mindful of the expanding definition of conflict of interest in the Building Professionals Act 2005.

Oct 07
Superannuation Update
By the Rigby Cooke Tax and Superannuation Team

In this Update we look at:

28 Sep 07
Friday Facts: Sons of Gwalia revisited
Mary Nemeth, Partner

In our 2 February 2007 edition of Friday Facts, we outlined the High Court decision in Sons of Gwalia Ltd v Margaretic and the basis upon which the High Court was prepared to acknowledge that shareholders were entitled to rank equally with creditors when a company became insolvent rather than coming last.

24 Aug 07
Friday Facts: Unfair term in contract
Mary Nemeth, Partner

In the recent case of Free v Jetstar Airways Pty Ltd, the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal decided that a term in the contract between Free and Jetstar in relation to an airline ticket was an “unfair term” in a “consumer contract” under the Fair Trading Act (Vic) 1999.

24 Aug 07
Estate Planning Update: The importance of having a Will
Robin Parsons, Special Counsel

This is particularly appropriate if you are about to marry, separate or divorce.

17 Aug 07
Friday Facts: Understanding offers of compromise
Mary Nemeth, Partner

Offers of compromise can be used as an effective tool to settle a proceeding on foot or at least to protect a party on costs. Offers of compromise are the successor to what used to be a payment into Court.

16 Aug 07
Customs & Trade Law Update: Lessons from the Wheatley case …
Philip Sheezel, Consultant

… for those who believe they can “beat the system”. The recent jailing of well-known music entrepreneur Glenn Wheatley for tax fraud has provided some important lessons to those who believe that they can “beat the system”.

10 Aug 07
Friday Facts: “Without prejudice” explained
Mary Nemeth, Partner

Quite often the words “without prejudice” are used when trying to settle a dispute. It is a common misconception not only amongst clients but also amongst lawyers that if correspondence or discussions are prefaced by the words “without prejudice” they cannot be used against a party later in Court.

25 Jun 07
Tax Update: Reforms to registration and regulation of tax practitioners
Arthur Athanasiou, Partner

The Minister for Revenue and Assistant Treasurer, Peter Dutton released the draft Tax Laws Amendment (Tax Agent Services) Bill 2007 and associated draft regulations and explanatory materials for public consultation and comment on 7 May 2007.

20 Jun 07
Customs & Trade Law Update: Are counterfeit and pirated imports damaging your business?
Philip Sheezel, Consultant

According to an OECD report released on 4 June 2007, international trade in counterfeit goods is worth a staggering $US200 billion ($A240 billion) a year. That figure does not include counterfeit and pirated products domestically produced and consumed. It also does not include products distributed via the internet!

08 Jun 07
Friday Facts: “ROT” extended
Mary Nemeth, Partner

In our last edition of Friday Facts, we explained retention of title clauses (“ROT”) which are incorporated into contracts to ensure that title to goods does not pass on delivery but rather on payment. An extension of ROT is the creation of a charge or alternatively a trust.

05 Jun 07
Retail Update: Landlords – Beware of overholding!
Grant Levy, Partner

A recent decision of the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal highlights the risk for a landlord of retail premises in allowing a tenant to remain in occupation of the premises after a lease expires.   

01 Jun 07
Friday Facts: “ROT” explained
Mary Nemeth, Partner

In a normal credit purchase transaction, property in goods supplied passes on the delivery of the goods to the purchaser by the seller, not as most would commonly believe, when payment of the goods has been made.

25 May 07
Friday Facts: When preserving the status quo is not enough
Mary Nemeth, Partner

In our 9 February 2007 edition of Friday Facts, we discussed the circumstances in which a Court will grant a Mareva injunction to preserve a position and prevent the dissipation of assets.

11 May 07
Friday Facts: Appeal does not operate as a stay
Mary Nemeth, Partner

A common misconception is that if an appeal is filed with the Court in relation to a judgment, then the successful party cannot take steps to enforce the judgment until the appeal has been heard and determined. That is not the case.

04 May 07
Friday Facts: What to do when you don’t have enough information to sue
Mary Nemeth, Partner

Sometimes clients find themselves in a position where they don’t have enough information to issue proceedings against a party they believe they are entitled to sue.

27 Apr 07
Friday Facts: Calderbank offers explained
Mary Nemeth, Partner

Quite often clients will find themselves in a position where they have been sued for an unrealistic damages claim. If offers of settlement are not accepted by the claimant then clients are faced with no option but to defend the claim.

20 Apr 07
Friday Facts: Implied waiver of documents relating to expert
Mary Nemeth, Partner

In the recent case of Watkins v State of Queensland [2007] QSC 057 (delivered 16 March 2007) the Supreme Court of Queensland considered whether the defendant’s solicitors should be required to deliver up to the plaintiff copies of documents associated with the defendant briefing its expert.

13 Apr 07
Customs & Trade Law Update: How to deal with a visit by Customs
Philip Sheezel, Consultant

Getting aggressive and argumentative is not the best way for importers or their agents to react when Customs officers arrive unannounced and demand immediate access so they can inspect, seize or copy documents.

13 Apr 07
Friday Facts: Enforcement of a judgment
Mary Nemeth, Partner

Quite often, once you have obtained a judgment in a civil proceeding, you will need to take steps to enforce the judgment in order to get payment because for whatever reason the judgment debtor has not paid the judgment sum.

Apr 07
Building and Construction Update: Directors beware! Liability for Directors of building companies
Justin Cotton, Associate

In this Update, we focus on two recent cases heard in the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal which raise complex issues for directors of building companies.

30 Mar 07
Friday Facts: Preventing disclosure of legal advice
Mary Nemeth, Partner

Preventing a waiver of legal professional privilege can be quite tricky as is demonstrated by the case of AWB Limited v Honourable Terence Rhoderic Hudson Cole (No 5) [2006] FCA 1234.

29 Mar 07
Superannuation Update: Progress of Simplified Superannuation Bill 2006 and supporting bills
By the Rigby Cooke Tax and Superannuation Team

The year is now well under way and there have not been any surprises such as the major shakeups of 2006 – although in superannuation (and tax), you generally should not assume anything! In this Update, we review the progress of the amending legislation on its way to actually becoming law, as well as discussing other recent developments.

26 Mar 07
Tax Update
By the Rigby Cooke Tax and Superannuation Team

In this Update, we set out some of the more interesting recent developments in the world of tax, including taxation determinations, decisions from the Courts and legislative developments.

23 Mar 07
Friday Facts: Terms of Settlement – making sure they are worth it!
Mary Nemeth, Partner

Often when parties reach an agreement to settle there is relief by the parties that the dispute has come to an end. At that point parties tend to forget about important issues which need to be dealt with in the terms of settlement in order to ensure that it does not backfire.

16 Mar 07
Friday Facts: Execution of Search Warrants – What to do
Mary Nemeth, Partner

When involved in commercial transactions, clients often become vulnerable to criminal investigation and civil prosecution by regulatory authorities. Usually the first notice they have that they are being investigated is when they are confronted with a police officer armed with a warrant to search the premises.

09 Mar 07
Friday Facts: Treasurer announces review of sanctions for breaches of Directors’ Duties
Mary Nemeth, Partner

On Monday the Federal Treasurer, the Honourable Peter Costello MP announced a review of the sanctions for breaches of the Corporations Act 2001 and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act 2001.

02 Mar 07
Friday Facts: Discovery obligations explained
Mary Nemeth, Partner

Often clients ask what documents am I required to discover? Explaining the obligations of discovery seems straightforward but more often than not, documents are produced during the course of the trial, thereby making it clear that the obligations have obviously not been well explained.

23 Feb 07
Friday Facts: Directors’ Duties in the spotlight
Mary Nemeth, Partner

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has, after undertaking an extensive investigation spanning the USA, the UK and Australia, finally issued civil penalty proceedings against James Hardie and some of its current and former directors.

21 Feb 07
Real Estate & The Law Update: Is your planning permit asking too much?
Jo Robinson, Associate

Councils don’t always get it right. Does your planning permit deal with matters that are more appropriately left to the building regulations or to the environment protection regime? Sometimes Councils impose inappropriate permit conditions which, if left unchallenged, can prove to be onerous and needlessly add to the cost of development.

16 Feb 07
Friday Facts: Expert Witness Reports explained
Mary Nemeth, Partner

Often when clients are faced with legal action that involves a complicated set of facts they look to an expert to provide them with an opinion as to whether there is a basis for the claim. The practical implications for clients of seeking an expert report need to be kept in mind if reliance on the report is anticipated.

09 Feb 07
Friday Facts: Preserving the status quo
Mary Nemeth, Partner

Often factual circumstances give rise to a need to apply to the Court for urgent orders to prevent the dissipation of assets. The Mareva injunction has been developed to deal with such cases. The question that clients often ask is in what circumstances will a Court allow such orders to be made?

02 Feb 07
Friday Facts: High Court decides in Sons of Gwalia – Section 563A does not mean “members come last”
Mary Nemeth, Partner

On Wednesday the High Court of Australia delivered its long awaited judgment in Sons of Gwalia Ltd v Margaretic [2007] HCA 1.

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