Sydney, Australia
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FRANCE has passed a law allowing employees to transfer unused sick leave to colleagues who have sick children.
ON 10 MAY 1951, the House of Lords delivered Bolton v Stone [1951] AC 850; [1951] 1 All ER 1078; [1951] UKHL 2 (10 May 1951).
http://www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKHL/1951/2.html
Liability does not extend to damage caused by a certain act or omission unless the possibility of causing the damage was reasonably foreseeable at the time.
The damage is not reasonably foreseeable if the likelihood of it happening involves a risk so small that a reasonable person would feel justified in disregarding it.
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ON 7 MAY 2014, the High Court of Australia delivered Australian Financial Services and Leasing Pty Limited v Hills Industries Limited [2014] HCA 14 (7 May 2014).
Australian Financial Services and Leasing Pty Limited (AFSL) had sought to recover monies had and received by the first and second respondents (Hills and Bosch) on the grounds that Hills and Bosch were paid under a mistake of fact arising from a fraud committed by a third party (Sharzynski) who controlled a group of companies (TCP) who traded with Hills and Bosch.
Sharzynski had led Hills and Bosch to expect that monies transferred from AFSL (TCP’s finance company) were for a reduction of debt owed to Hills and Bosch by TCP. On the faith of receiving the monies, Hills and Bosch continued to trade with TCP and chose not to pursue their remedies against TCP for the recovery of outstanding debts. However, the monies had been transferred from AFSL under a mistake of fact induced by a fraud committed by Sharzynski, who had falsified invoices from Hills and Bosch to represent that the monies in question were for AFSL to acquire equipment from Hills and Bosch to be leased back to TCP.
Hills and Bosch argued that on the faith of receiving the monies, they had suffered an irreversible detriment by choosing not to pursue their remedies against Sharzynski and TCP.
The NSW Court of Appeal held that Hills and Bosch were not required to repay the monies as they had established a complete defence that they had changed their position and suffered an irreversible detriment on the faith of the receipt of the payments.
The High Court unanimously rejected AFSL’s appeal of the Court of Appeal’s decision. The High Court held that the relevant inquiry is whether or not the retention of the monies would be inequitable in all of the circumstances and concluded that it would be inequitable if Hills and Bosch were required to repay AFSL. The High Court rejected the approach proposed by AFSL that it must take into account the extent to which Hills and Bosch had been “disenriched” as this principle, like the principle of unjust enrichment, is inconsistent with the Australian law of restitution.
http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/cth/HCA/2014/14.html
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ON 29 OCTOBER 2012, new swimming pool laws were introduced with the amendment of the Swimming Pools Act 1992 (NSW) by the Swimming Pools Amendment Act 2012 No 77 (NSW).
The Swimming Pools Act 1992 (NSW) contains a range of measures to restrict access to private swimming pools in the interests of public safety.
Under the new measures, it is compulsory from 29 APRIL 2014 that:
In addition to freehold and leasehold, the laws apply to strata schemes, community schemes and Crown leases.
For further information, go to http://www.swimmingpoolregister.nsw.gov.au/.
Sydney, Australia
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TOMORROW at 9.15 am in the Banco Court, Peter Hamill SC will be sworn in as a Judge of the Supreme Court of NSW.
Sydney, Australia
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ON 26 APRIL 2014, Mosman Lawyer Barry O’Keefe QC died aged 80.
ON 3O APRIL 1935, the High Court of Australia delivered Nette v Howarth [1935] HCA 22; (1935) 53 CLR 55 (30 April 1935).
http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/cth/HCA/1935/22.html
Per Evatt and McTiernan JJ:
“The word “pay” includes the remuneration granted to the holder of a rank or office in the case where he is relieved from the actual performance of the duties of the office. In this sense it includes the half-pay of a military officer. A characteristic of a payment which answers the description “pay” is that the payee receives it on account of the occupancy of some office, rank or employment.”
Sydney, Australia
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ON 23 APRIL 2014, Justice Adamson of the Supreme Court of NSW delivered McKellar v DPP [2014] NSWSC 459.
The court quashed a Local Court conviction and sentence to a defendant who the Magistrate determined was not present (and dealt with her case as though she was not present) despite her solicitor being present.
http://www.caselaw.nsw.gov.au/action/PJUDG?jgmtid=171034
Sydney, Australia
1300 00 2088
ON 23 APRIL 2014, the Fair Work Commission released its Unfair Dismissals Quarterly Report for the Jan-March 2014.
Click to access AB-Q3-FYR13-14.pdf
Sydney, Australia
1300 00 2088
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