News & Publications
Facebook Operators Potentially Liable for Defamatory Third-Party Comments
In the recent Supreme Court of NSW case Voller (Voller v Nationwide News Pty Ltd; Voller v Fairfax Media Publications Pty Ltd; Voller v Australian News Channel Pty Ltd [2019] NSWSC 766), the court held that operators of public Facebook pages are deemed to be ‘publishers’, and thus may potentially be liable for defamatory comments made by third-party users.
Costs in the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal
The general common law rule in respect of costs in litigation is that costs follow the event. This means that the unsuccessful party generally pays at least part of the costs of the successful party. The general rule does not apply in the NSW Civil and Administrative...
Renovation by-laws: time frames and tips
Having a special by-law drafted by a solicitor, seeking the Owners Corporation’s approval and registering the by-law approving the works, are the main steps that an owner wishing to renovate their strata unit needs to take before commencing major works.
Under section 111 of the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 (the Act), major renovations have to be approved by special resolution of the Owners Corporation at a general meeting. It is important that the motion is correctly drafted in order to reflect that the by-law was adopted by special resolution, as required by the Act.
“Cracking up” a report by Four Corners on Australia’s Building Crisis
Cracking up – a Four Corners report that highlights the issues of faced in strata and other high rise buildings featuring our own Christopher Kerin.
ACT Case Note: How not to issue a rule infringement notice
CORBY v THE OWNERS CORPORATION – UNITS PLAN NO 1035 (Unit Titles) [2019] ACAT 45 ACT CIVIL & ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL Member: Senior Member R Orr QC Date of Decision/ Orders: 8 May 2019 FACTS On 11 April 2018 the executive committee for the owners corporation of...
Christopher Kerin appears before the Inquiry Into Building Quality in the ACT
On 22 May 2019, Christopher Kerin appeared before the ACT Parliamentary Inquiry Into Building Quality in the ACT and detailed the challenges facing apartment owners in the ACT as well as what needs to change to provide more consumer protection to apartment owners....
Kerin Benson Lawyers have provided their submissions in response to the Building Stronger Foundations Discussion Paper
In February 2019 the NSW Government released their response to the Shergold Weir Building Confidence Report. This was followed by the NSW Government’s Building Stronger Foundations Discussion Paper in June 2019. The public was invited to provide the NSW Government...
Is it a repair or an alteration or improvement? A recent case update
On 16 April 2019, the Supreme Court of New South Wales handed down its decision in the matter of Glenquarry Park Investments Pty Ltd v Hegyesi [2019] NSWSC 425. The case largely concerned whether proposed works to common property amounted to repairs, replacement or...
Defamation and owners corporations: be careful in your communications
In Raynor v Murray [2019] NSWDC 189 the New South Wales District Court has held that remarks sent in an email to the chairperson of an owners corporation that copied in all owners and occupiers within the scheme were defamatory. The case came about after the owners...
Works approval orders under the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015: How do they work in practice?
What do you do if you want to do work (or have done work) but you can’t get approval of your owners corporation? Section 126 of the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 enables a lot owner (or lessee in a leasehold scheme) to apply to the NSW Civil & Administrative...
Lacrosse Apartments VCAT Decision – Combustible Cladding and Important Liability Issues for Building Consultants
On 28 February 2019 His Honour Judge Woodward delivered his judgement which is the first major decision in Australia regarding the liability of building industry entities involved in the design and construction of a building with combustible cladding. The subject of the judgement was a fire which took place in November 2014 at the Lacrosse […]
Newly Re-Elected NSW Government Building Standards Announcement
NSW Government – building standards update The newly re-elected Berejiklian Government has announced its plan in response to the Building Confidence Report commissioned by the Building Ministers’ Forum in August 2017. The independent expert review by Professor Peter Shergold AC and Bronwyn Weir examined building regulatory systems around Australia and found there are national problems […]