Bankruptcy is a process where a person (‘debtor’) who cannot afford to pay their debts, gives up their assets and control of their finances, either voluntarily or by court order, in exchange for protection from legal action by their creditors who are pursuing payment.
Litigation is generally costly, time-consuming and stressful, with no absolute certainty as to the outcome. In order to minimise the likelihood of being involved in a dispute, it pays to have your building contract reviewed, whether you are an owner, developer, builder or sub-contractor.
Parties to domestic building work disputes are required to obtain a certificate of conciliation from the DBDRV prior to issuing proceedings in VCAT or a court. However, Section 134 of the Building Act 1993 (Vic) (‘the Building Act’) limits the time for building actions be brought to 10 years from the date of the occupancy permit, or, where no such permit has been issued, 10 years from the date of the certificate of final inspection.
Liquidation is the process of winding up and finalising a company’s affairs. The most common type of insolvent liquidation is a creditors’ voluntary liquidation. This is because it relatively straight-forward, inexpensive and initiated by the directors and shareholders, usually by way of a creditors vote for liquidation following voluntary administration, a terminated deed of company arrangement, or an insolvent company's shareholders resolve to liquidate the company and appoint a liquidator.
If you are a party to a domestic building work dispute,you can refer the dispute to the Domestic Building Dispute Resolution Victoria ('DBDRV') by filling out an online application form. A conciliation officer will then make an initial assessment to determine whether the dispute fits the preliminary requirements necessary for it to be accepted by the DBDRV.
Receivership is a legal process in which a suitably qualified person, the receiver, acts as a custodian to safeguard a company’s assets should the company find itself in financial difficulty. Receivership occurs when one or more of the company’s secured creditors, who holds security over some or all of the company’s assets, appoints a receiver to take control over those company’s assets. There is no requirement for a court to approve the appointment of a receiver, however, in special circumstances, a court may do so.
Generally speaking, agreeing to pay for a service (whether it be via booking an appointment or booking a service such as a hotel room) equates to entering into a verbal contract. As with any contract, these agreements come with terms and conditions to which you are bound, including any cancellation policy. Click here for more information.
We provide a few practical steps that can be taken when attempting to resolve commercial disputes during the COVID-19 pandemic period. These disputes may stem from businesses becoming unable or unwilling to meet their contractual obligations or adjust to the disruption which may have come about though lockdown periods, business closures, reductions in staffing, cancellations of events and travel restrictions.
In response to the current coronavirus pandemic, the Federal Government recently introduced a number of financial measures in its Coronavirus Economic Response Package Omnibus Act 2020 (Vic)(“the Act’). Much of the Act deals with economic stimulus measures, such as stimulus payments and superannuation draw-downs, however Schedule 12 is entitled “Temporary relief for financially distressed individuals and businesses” and deals with three key areas of temporary reform.
The social distancing restrictions that have been introduced in response to the coronavirus pandemic have raised issues regarding the signing of legal documents that require a witness, including affidavits and statutory declarations.
Engaging a builder to build your home can be daunting – you are committing a significant amount of time and money into developing a valuable asset. In such circumstances, the last thing you want is a dispute with your builder that will take significant time to resolve and extensive legal costs. We provide a guide of steps that can be taken to avoid domestic building disputes with your builder.
