Legal Corner
Property Owner's Liability for "Obvious" Risk
In a recent appeal case of Odrrlijn v Beard, the Court of Appeal of the NSW Supreme Court ruled on the extent of a property owner's liability for "obvious" risk, that is, a guest of a renter being injured by a ceiling fan.
The injured applicant sought leave to appeal against the judgment of the District Court Judge who found in favour of the property owner. The Court of Appeal refused to grant leave to appeal on the basis that the District Judge had not made any alleged error in her judgment.
One.Tel case judgement
In the recently completed One.Tel case, Justice Austin of the Supreme Court of NSW handed down the following judgment:
- ASIC did not prove that One.Tel Directors Jodee Rich and Mark Silbermann had breached their Directors' duties; and
- Directors are expected to possess the degree of financial literacy of the hypothetical reasonable director, regardless of their individual background and experience.
Commercial Liability Risks Posed by Major Construction Projects
Since its creation in 2008, the Education Investment Fund (EIF) has had a significant impact on the university sector.
- Awards from $2 billion in funding available, enhancing teaching, learning and/or research capacity training;
- 17 Australian univiersities ranked in the top 500 in the world;
- Funding availability has meant increases in campus construction projects and a need to be aware of risk to people and property during expansion.
Legal Update - UWA v Gray decision is here to stay
If universities want to ensure that they own inventions developed by academic staff in the course of their employment, they need to review their IP arrangements and take immediate steps to ensure that they have properly secured those rights.
