Tag Archives: LOWER NORTH SHORE

Spit Junction Lawyers

July 5, 2014 Legal Helpdesk Lawyers

At Legal Helpdesk we provide legal information and advice to local individuals and businesses on Sydney’s Lower North Shore and Northern Beaches. We triage all types of matters and if required refer them to a network of reliable solicitors and barristers with suitable expertise.

Our aim is to make it easier for people to find the right information, advice and results.

Confidentiality and privacy is protected by law.

1300 00 2088

Sydney, Australia

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Criminal Law, Sentencing

R v Loveridge [2014] NSWCCA 120

July 4, 2014 Legal Helpdesk Lawyers

ON 4 JULY 2014, the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal delivered R v Loveridge [2014] NSWCCA 120 (4 July 2014).

http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/nsw/NSWCCA/2014/120.html

The court increased the sentences imposed upon the defendant for offences including the manslaughter of Thomas Kelly.

Sydney, Australia

1300 00 2088

Duty of Care, Negligence

Council of the Shire of Sutherland v Heyman [1985] HCA 41 | 4 July 1985

July 4, 2014 Legal Helpdesk Lawyers

ON 4 JULY 1985, the High Court of Australia delivered Council of the Shire of Sutherland v Heyman [1985] HCA 41; (1985) 157 CLR 424 (4 July 1985).

http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/cth/HCA/1985/41.html

The council was sued by a resident homeowner for the expenses associated with remedying damage caused to their house due to it being constructed on inadequate footings. The owner alleged that the council was negligent in that it failed in it’s duty of care to ensure that the dwelling was properly constructed in accordance with the plans they approved because it failed to inspect the foundations before they were covered up.

The court did not find the council to be negligent in this case. Nevertheless, the decision established the principle that a public authority is governed by the ordinary principles of the law of negligence, even if it is a repository of a statutory discretion.

The court held that in certain circumstances a government body could be negligent in failing to prevent harm where a reasonable reliance arises from the community’s dependence on the function being exercised with due care.

Per Mason J at 464:

“…there will be cases in which the plaintiff’s reasonable reliance will arise out of a general dependence on an authority’s performance of its function with due care, without the need for contributing conduct on the part of a defendant or action to his detriment on the part of a plaintiff. …The control of air traffic, the safety inspection of aircraft and the fighting of a fire…by a fire authority…may well be examples of this type of function. …Whether the inspection of motor vehicles for registration purposes could generate such a general reliance is a more complex question…”

Per Mason J at 469:

“The distinction between policy and operational factors is not easy to formulate, but the dividing line between them will be observed if we recognize that a public authority is under no duty of care in relation to decisions which involve or are dictated by financial, economic, social or political factors or constraints. Thus budgetary allocations and the constraints which they entail in terms of allocation of resources cannot be made the subject of a duty of care. But it may be otherwise when the courts are called upon to apply a standard of care to action or inaction that is merely the product of administrative direction, expert or professional opinion, technical standards or general standards of reasonableness.”

The “doctrine of general reliance” has since been rejected by the High Court: see Pyrenees Shire Council v Day; Eskimo Amber Pty Ltd v Pyrenees Shire Council (1998) 192 CLR 330.

Sydney, Australia

1300 00 2088

Planning Law

15/47 Neridah St (accessed at 15 Oscar St), Chatswood NSW 2057

July 3, 2014 Legal Helpdesk Lawyers

ON 3 JULY 2014, the NSW Land and Environment Court delivered Willoughby City Council v Chen [2014] NSWLEC 92.

http://www.caselaw.nsw.gov.au/action/PJUDG?jgmtid=172539

The court declared that the respondent failed to comply with a Brothel Closure order with respect to premises at 15/47 Neridah St (accessed at 15 Oscar St), Chatswood and ordered that she be restrained from using such premises as a brothel or for related sex uses.

Sydney, Australia

1300 00 2088

Planning Law

Willoughby City Council v Chen [2014] NSWLEC 92

July 3, 2014 Legal Helpdesk Lawyers

ON 3 JULY 2014, the NSW Land and Environment Court delivered Willoughby City Council v Chen [2014] NSWLEC 92.

http://www.caselaw.nsw.gov.au/action/PJUDG?jgmtid=172539

1300 00 2088

Guardianship

BEY v NSW Trustee and Guardian [2014] NSWCATAD

July 3, 2014 Legal Helpdesk Lawyers

ON 3 JULY 2014, the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal delivered BEY v NSW Trustee and Guardian [2014] NSWCATAD 87.

http://www.caselaw.nsw.gov.au/action/PJUDG?jgmtid=172511

The tribunal affirmed a decision of the NSW Trustee and Guardian to sell a property owned by the applicant’s mother, a dementia sufferer whose estate was committed by the Guardianship Tribunal to management by the NSW Trustee and Guardian.

The applicant had sought a review under Part 3A of the Guardianship Act 1987. He believed that it was in his mother’s best interests that the property be leased even though the mother wished to sell the property. He believed that the mother was being manipulated or influenced by his brother with whom he is in conflict.

The tribunal avoided making any findings regarding the manipulation or influence and instead found that it was the mother’s right to earn the best interest possible with the proceeds of the sale invested in a diversified portfolio.

1300 00 2088

Courts and Tribunals

Supreme Court of NSW

July 3, 2014 Legal Helpdesk Lawyers

The Supreme Court of NSW http://www.supremecourt.lawlink.nsw.gov.au/supremecourt/sco2_index.html is the state’s highest court and has jurisdiction to deal with:

Civil matters of any amount.
Serious criminal matters.

The court’s functions are divided into:

Trial matters in the Common Law and Equity divisions.
Appeal matters in the Court of Appeal and Court of Criminal Appeal.

The court is presided over by a Chief Justice, President of the Court of Appeal, Judges of Appeal, Judges and Associate Judges. Some judicial functions are delegated to Registrars. The current Chief Justice is the Hon T F Bathurst AC and the President of the Court of Appeal is the Hon Justice Margaret Joan Beazley AO.

Proceedings of the Supreme Court are carried out at:

Law Courts Building, Queens Square, Sydney
St James Road Court, St James Road, Sydney
King Street Courthouse, Corner King and Elizabeth Streets, Sydney
Darlinghurst Courthouse, Taylor Square, Sydney
Wentworth Chambers, 180 Phillip Street, Sydney
Hospital Road Court Complex, Hospital Road, Sydney

Sydney, Australia

1300 00 2088

Courts and Tribunals

District Court of NSW

July 3, 2014 Legal Helpdesk Lawyers

The District Court of NSW http://www.districtcourt.lawlink.nsw.gov.au/districtcourt/index.html has jurisdiction to deal with:

Motor accident personal injury claims of any amount that have been either assessed, or made exempt from assessment, by the Claims Assessment and Resolution Service.
Other Civil matters up to the value of $750,000, or over that amount if all parties consent.
All criminal matters apart from murder, treason and piracy.
Residual matters transferred from the Compensation Court of NSW.
Summary jurisdiction for offences under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011.
Medical Tribunal.
Appeals of Local Court and Children’s Court decisions.

The court is presided over by Judges who delegate some of their functions to Registrars. The Chief Judge is the Honourable Justice Reginald Blanch AM.

The court’s Sydney CBD registry is situated at Level 4, John Maddison Tower, Sydney NSW 2000. Other Sydney metropolitan registries are located at Liverpool and Parramatta. The court also sits at Campbelltown and Penrith and various other locations around the state.

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