|
Planning & Environmental Expertise
We are delighted to announce that Jenny Ware has joined our Firm as Special Counsel. Jenny is a specialist planning and environmental lawyer with additional broad ranging skills in commercial litigation and commercial transactions. She joins our Commercial group and will be providing additional support to the Property group on property development transactions.
Jenny has previously practised at national law firms, including as a partner heading one firm’s Sydney planning and environmental group. She has extensive experience advising developers, local councils, Landcom, the Department of Planning and resident action groups on all aspects of planning, local government and environmental law including:
· Zoning interpretation - permissibility of uses and existing use rights;
· Construction certificates and occupation certificates;
· Section 94 contributions;
· Section 96 modifications;
· Environmental impact statements;
· Retrospective consents;
· Pollution offences;
· Land & Environment Court litigation;
· Designated development;
· Heritage matters;
· Challenging decisions of governments – local councils and tribunals;
· Environmental due diligence reporting on corporate transactions; and
· Land resumption and compensation.
Jenny has advised on major projects around Sydney including: Penrith Lakes, South Sydney Corporate Park, Walsh Bay, Jackson’s Landing and the Outlook at Kellyville. She has successfully acted in the Land & Environment Court for Mirvac Ltd, Defence Housing Authority and a raft of medium and smaller developers. Jenny has provided specialist advice to major national companies such as Stockland, Mirvac, WSN Environmental Solutions, CSR and Lend Lease.
Jenny has a sound understanding of the development industry and sat on the Board of the Urban Development Institute of Australia (NSW) from 2003 to 2007 where she was the inaugural chair of its Women in Development committee and also chaired its legal committee.
Contractual rights of suppliers to recover goods
A retention of title clause (ROT clause) in a contract for the sale of goods protects sellers from surrendering goods sold on credit if the buyer later becomes unable to pay for example, due to insolvency.
A ROT clause provides that ownership of goods does not pass to the buyer until they have paid for the goods in full. This means that the seller can reclaim unpaid goods that are in the possession of the buyer and defeat claims on the buyer’s assets from other creditors who may hold registered charges over the buyer’s assets.
In order for a ROT clause to be enforceable, the seller must be able to identify the actual goods that are the subject of the clause. Where possible, suppliers should use serial numbers or other identifying marks so that they are able to match goods to particular invoices. If the same type of goods have been supplied under more than one invoice but only one invoice remains unpaid, the supplier will have to identify the actual goods that were supplied under the unpaid invoice in order to reply on the ROT clause.
A supplier may seek to use an “all monies” clause in a contract to overcome the issue of matching the actual goods with an invoice. An “all monies” clause may provide that title to any goods does not pass to the buyer until all debts have been repaid to the supplier so that a supplier can reclaim any of their goods if there is any unpaid debt, regardless of whether the goods match the particular invoice.
Problems relating to identifying and reclaiming goods can arise when goods have been used or improved as part of a manufacturing process or if goods have been on-sold to a third party.
Goods that have been on-sold to a third party generally cannot be reclaimed by the supplier. To reduce a buyer’s incentive to re-sell goods, a ROT clause may be drafted so as to require that sale proceeds received by the buyer from an on-sale are held in trust for the seller.
If you have any questions on how or when to use retention of title clauses or the effect of such clauses on your business, please do not hesitate to contact Craig Pryor on (02) 9525 8688 or email craig@wmdlaw.com.au.
The Truth the Whole Truth and Nothing but the Truth
It is not unusual in the case of a divorce for a client not to want to disclose everything to his or her lawyer. Sometimes this is because the details may be embarrassing and sometimes it can be because one party has been keeping financial secrets from the other during the course of the relationship and they want to continue to maintain that secret.
It is critical, especially in Family Law cases, to have a sufficiently good relationship with your lawyer to be able to be comfortable to talk about embarrassing or confidential issues. Not only can your lawyer not assist you to the best of the lawyer's abilities if they don't have a complete picture of your situation but parties to Family Law proceedings have a positive obligation to the Court to disclose all material that is relevant to the determination of the case. The Family Court has severely punished people who fail to disclose details.
If financial matters are concealed and they come out at a late stage of the proceedings it can be very damaging to your case and to the credit that the Court will place upon any testimony.
Concealing information is also usually grounds for setting aside a consent arrangement or a Binding Financial Agreement entered into between the parties for property settlement.
If you or anyone you know is in need of assistance in relation to family law or de facto issues please contact Greg Dickson, greg@wmdlaw.com.au or (02) 9525 8688.
Agent's commission
In New South Wales the amount of the commission you pay to an agent to sell your property is negotiable because, unlike in other states, the commission is deregulated. As a general guide the agent’s commission is usually around 2% to 3.5% of the sale price plus GST.
When this commission becomes payable to the agent will depend on the agreement reached between you and your agent. The deposit is usually held by the agent following the exchange and then after settlement the agent will release the deposit to the vendor, after deduction of the agreed commission.
It is important to note that some agency agreements require you to pay commission even when the agent does not actually sell the property. Clauses of this nature often arise in exclusive agency agreements where the vendor is restricted to listing with only the one agent for a certain period of time. If the property is sold by someone else during this period, for example, if it is sold to a relative, commission may still be payable to agent. If you appoint another agent to sell your property you may also, depending on the wording in the agency agreement, become liable to double commission.
It is important to be aware of your rights and obligations when appointing an agent to sell your property.
If you would like any further information or have any questions regarding your obligations under a current or pending agency agreement please contact Gina Haramis on (02) 9525 8688 or email gina@wmdlaw.com.au
Lions Club of Cronulla and WMD Charity Golf Day
The Lions Club of Cronulla and Warren McKeon Dickson Lawyers are holding the 13th Annual Corporate Charity Golf Day on 12 March 2010 at Cronulla Golf Club.
All proceeds of the event go to supporting the Bate Bay Nippers Clubs and other Lions Club projects, including supporting the Sydney Children’s Hospital and Sutherland Hospital.
The Lions Club and WMD would like to thank the local businesses and members of the community for their support and sponsorship of this event.
We look forward to seeing everyone there on the day, supporting a very worthy cause and enjoying a relaxing Friday afternoon of golf. Good luck to all the competitors!
If you would like any information on how to become involved with any future events and fundraisers, please contact Kevin Dwyer, Principal of WMD, on 9525 8688 or email kevin@wmdlaw.com.au.
This newsletter is intended to provide general information and is current as at the date of publication only. This newsletter does not, and is not intended to, provide legal advice to any person. Recipients of this newsletter should not alter their position (or refrain from altering their position) on the basis of any information contained in this newsletter and should always obtain appropriate legal advice from a qualified lawyer. Receipt of this newsletter is not intended to and does not create any solicitor-client relationship.
Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation and by our Terms of Appointment.
Your Subscription:
|