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Hypotheticals by Manny Wood Published in the Coffs Coast Advocate on 2 March 2019. Betty, aged 70, trips and falls heavily in an area outside an aged care facility. Unfortunately, she suffers substantial bruising and significant injuries to her left wrist and right elbow. The cause of the incident was the edge of a concrete slab bordered by sunken surrounding brick pavers which created a height difference of between 10 and 20mm. A year later, as a result of the injuries, Betty is still experiencing significant problems with her wrist and elbow. Betty makes a claim in the District Court, alleging that the aged care facility was negligent [...]

Hypotheticals by Manny Wood Published in the Coffs Coast Advocate on 23 February 2019. Ruth owns a unit in a multi-story strata complex. The apartment above Ruth is rented-out to a young couple and noise from the apartment is keeping her awake at night. Ruth makes an application to the NSW Consumer and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT), alleging that the tenants are responsible for noise that disturbs the peaceful occupation of her unit, breaching the strata by-laws. She also claims that the unit does not have floor coverings or treated floors sufficient to prevent the transmission of such noise to other units. The owner of the unit, Earl and [...]

Hypotheticals by Manny Wood Published in the Coffs Coast Advocate on 16 February 2019. Kylie commenced work as a young Police Officer in 2001 and in the course of her duties between that time and early 2008 she was exposed to numerous traumatic incidents. By early 2008, Kylie was receiving regular medical treatment for anxiety and depression and was engaged in non-operational duties until August 2010 when unfortunately, she was not able to work at all. Apart from Kylie’s police work, she had obtained a certificate in childcare and worked in a childcare centre, as well as obtaining a driving instructor training certificate and working as a driving [...]

Hypotheticals by Manny Wood Published in the Coffs Coast Advocate on 9 February 2019. Mario, aged 67, was working for a labour hire company as a formwork labourer on a construction site. The concrete company giving him instructions was not his employer. Mario’s role consisted of him performing manual work which involved heavy lifting. On occasions he would lift plywood sheeting which when damp, weighed between 20 and 40 kg. Unfortunately, on one occasion, Mario was lifting a plywood sheet in bad lighting and he lost his balance and fell. He suffered a particularly serious injury to his left knee. Mario had previously asked the concrete company to [...]

Hypotheticals by Manny Wood Published in the Coffs Coast Advocate on 12 January 2019. Penny commences action against Diane. Diane is the executor of her late husband’s estate. Diane’s husband had two children to a previous relationship namely, Penny and Belinda. The estate is small and Diane, Penny and Belinda each receive an equal share of the estate, equating to around $200,000 each. […]

Hypotheticals by Manny Wood Published in the Coffs Coast Advocate on 22 December 2018. John and Josephine and are both retired. John receives a superannuation pension and Josephine receives an Aged Pension from Centrelink. They own their own home as joint tenants. They each have a motor vehicle, have a joint bank account and own some jointly held shares. They make wills leaving their whole estate to each other and if the other is not alive, then to their children equally. Unfortunately, John passes away and Josephine consults a solicitor regarding his estate. […]

Hypotheticals by Manny Wood Published in the Coffs Coast Advocate on 15 December 2018. Mary has five children. Mary lives with her sons, John and Daniel. Daniel suffers from an intellectual disability and John is his carer. Daniel has $100,000 in bank accounts that are under the control of the NSW Trustee & Guardian. When Mary passes away at the age of 85, her will grants John and Daniel the right to reside in her home for life and leaves the rest of her estate to all of her five children equally. They each receive $250,000. Daniel’s share is to be held on trust by the executors for [...]

Hypotheticals by Manny Wood Published in the Coffs Coast Advocate on 8 December 2018. Mary separates from her husband and moves in with her cousin, Christine. They sign a six month lease and share the rental payments. They both receive the Newstart Allowance and share their other living expenses, including utilities, food and outgoings, to cater for their tight budget. Mary and Christine share the domestic duties, including cooking, cleaning, shopping and the care of their animals. Mary dies three months later at the age of 55. Mary is survived by three children, aged between 25 and 30 years. […]

Hypotheticals by Manny Wood Published in the Coffs Coast Advocate on 24 November 2018. Mary and her son, Daniel purchase a property together as joint tenants in the early 1980s. Half the purchase price is paid by Mary and they obtain a home loan to fund the balance. Daniel earns a small income, which with Mary’s income, allows them to service and soon pay-out the loan. Mary’s other son, Peter is an unemployed minor. […]

Hypotheticals by Manny Wood Published in the Coffs Coast Advocate on 17 November 2018. Barry, Accountant, is visiting his clients when he notices that a property on the street is unoccupied and falling into disrepair. A year passes and Barry observes that nothing has changed. Barry speaks to his clients who inform him that an elderly lady had died and since then the property has been vacant. Barry is aware that it may be possible to obtain title to the property by taking possession of it over a sufficiently long period of time. […]