Dispute Resolution & Litigation

Murfett Legal provides the full suite of Dispute Resolution services.

This includes advocacy, Litigation (Court / Tribunal representation), mediation, negotiation and advice.

Importantly, our lawyers keep commercial objectives in mind. They are renowned for their commercial acumen, not only their legal knowledge. They understand business.

Our Dispute Resolution & Litigation team also draws on specialist knowledge of other lawyers at Murfett Legal, to obtain the best outcome for clients.

As a result, in addition to high-level service and a personable approach, we have built a strong reputation for successful outcomes in both simple and complex disputes, both commercially and creatively.

Here are some examples of recent matters in which we have assisted clients:

Director / Shareholder Disputes

Assisted a Director, through negotiation, to exit from a complex corporate structure where a dispute arose between Directors, minimising his exposure moving forward.

Business Sale disputes

Negotiated a resolution (on behalf of the vendor) regarding a dispute with the purchaser of an Aviation business.

Partnership Disputes

Assisted the continuing-partners of a professional services firm, through negotiation and application of the terms of the partnership agreement, to resolve issues with the departing partner, including issues regarding:

  • Departing equity valuation
  • Return of goods and equipment and intellectual property
  • Post-exit competition

Guarantee liability negotiation

Negotiated and implemented a strategy for a Director of a failed (liquidated) company with a significant alleged guarantee creditor and other smaller alleged guarantee creditors, for a settlement involving a significant compromise (waiver / reduction) of the debt claimed, and payment of the settlement sum by instalments. The payments were manageable and avoided bankruptcy.

Release of volunteer guarantors, on the basis that the guarantee had no direct or indirect benefit to the guarantor.

Construction Contracts Act

In respect of the Construction Contracts Act and the adjudication process there in:

  • Appealed to the Supreme Court and settled a significant Construction Contracts Act dispute
  • Registered Adjudications as judgments and enforcement, including statutory demands and negotiations
  • International arbitration on oil and gas projects and rail project adjudications

Debt Collection

In respect of debt collection:

  • Demands
  • Negotiations
  • Court action
  • Deeds of Settlement (and security)
  • Deeds of Guarantee
  • Instalment payment agreements
  • Compromise and release agreements

Mortgage / Equipment Finance Disputes

Negotiating with mortgagees (banks / financiers / private lenders) for:

  • Forbearance and time to re-finance
  • Partial release of security
  • Orderly sale of assets, rather than fire sale by mortgagee in possession
  • Release of ‘volunteer’ guarantors

Acting for a defendant in a mortgagee repossession action and successfully negotiating a stay of execution with the mortgagee, whilst acting for the same party (as plaintiff) in an action for sale in lieu of partition of a jointly owned property. We successfully settled the partition action, the proceeds from which are sufficient to discharge the mortgage debt and prevent our client from being evicted from his family home.

Land Tax

Successfully overturned a Land Tax decision. See Quito Pty Ltd v Commissioner of State Revenue [2014] WASAT 8, which turned on the statutory interpretation of the word “use” in the context of the primary production land tax exemption under WA state law.

ATO disputes and winding up applications

Various disputes and dealings with the ATO, including:

  • Defending Court actions
  • Negotiating for adjournment (postponement) of winding-up applications, to allow time for re-finance and payment of tax debt
  • Instalment arrangements
  • GIC (interest) and penalty remission applications

Click HERE for more information about our Taxation Services.

Prosecutions

Defending against prosecutions and civil claims relating to breaches of environment protection and mining acts and Work Safe and Energy Safety prosecutions.

Family Provision (Inheritance) Estate claims and Will Disputes

Determination of binding Wills and their interpretation and family provision claims.

Aboriginal Corporations and Trusts

  • Indigenous Land Use Agreements
  • Injunction applications
  • Employment advice
  • Joint Venture disputes
  • Property and Leasing
  • Internal Governance Disputes
  • Royalty Agreements

Insolvency

Click HERE for more information about Business Advisory and Insolvency.

Intellectual Property Disputes

Ownership and use disputes regarding:

  • Copyright
  • Patent
  • Trademarks
  • Domain Name and Cybersquatting

Defamation

Bringing and defending claims.

Administrative Law

Acting for the applicant in a successful review application under the Business Names Registration Act 2011 (Cth) in the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. See Stasiw v ASIC [2015] AATA 328, which turned on the statutory interpretation of the words ‘nearly identical’ for the purposes of comparing prospective business names to existing company names.

Financial Ombudsman Service application

Applied to FOS and successfully negotiated for the release of borrower’s parents from guarantee liability.

INDIGENOUS LAND USE AGREEMENT DISPUTES

Assisted the “No Surrender, No Deal” group of Noongar people to bring court proceedings before the High Court of Australia and the Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia in an endeavour to stop the registration of alleged Indigenous Land Use Agreements which if registered would extinguish native title in the country of these people.


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