Bernie Cummins is a senior litigation lawyer.

Email Contact: bernie@murfett.com.au

Bernie’s work has had a heavy emphasis on commercial litigation involving trade practice claims, accessorial liability, unconscionability, fiduciary duties and trust claims, debt recovery, wills and estates disputes.

Areas of Expertise

Bernie has significant experience in conducting both civil and criminal trials, mediations and in delivering satisfactory outcomes to clients and businesses.  In recent times Bernie has:

• Instructed Counsel in lengthy Federal Court proceedings for several commercial growers of fresh produce against foreign corporations and Australian respondents.  The proceedings involved claims for product liability, breach of contract, negligence and TPA claims.
• Instructed Counsel in a 31 day trial before the Federal Court in proceedings issued against 16 respondents by the ACCC for petrol price fixing.  The proceedings were recently reported and the contesting respondents were entirely successful with all claims made against them by the ACCC being dismissed with costs.
• Acted in relation to multiple murder investigations and coronial inquests.
• Acted for parties in a highly publicised defacto property dispute which involved complex trust issues, issues of unconscionable conduct, unjust enrichment, and propriety estoppel.
• Acted on behalf of the former director and part owner of the Pyramid Building Society Group in relation to a multiplicity of civil and criminal proceedings arising out of the collapse of the ill futed building societies.
• Acted on behalf of a national corporation in relation to contractual, negligence and TPA claims concerning the installation of a state of the art bottling line costing in excess of $1.5M.
• Represented major sporting clubs and players in contractual disputes, restraint of trade claims, defamation and other legal disputes.
• Acted for applicants and respondents in relation to wills and estate disputes.
• Acted for a Queensland corporation and defendant director sued in the Supreme Court of Victoria involving allegations of breach of director duties and fraud where the damages sought exceed $4M.
• Acted for a defendant trucking corporation against Pacific National which claimed approximately $5M in damages arising from a train collision which occurred in 2006.
• Acted for a major corporation against its former CEO who instituted proceedings for unfair dismissal and breach of contract.

Work History / Qualifications:

Bernie joined the litigation team at Murfett Legal as a senior lawyer in May 2008.  Prior to moving to Western Australia to live permanently, Bernie had been in legal practice in Victoria for 30 years, including 20 as partner.

Bernie was head of the litigation department in one of Victoria’s largest regional law firms.

Bernie’s practice has predominately been commercial litigation with a degree of white collar and other crime.  Whilst his experience has been across a wide variety of areas, his main focus is litigation.