Case Reference:
Type of Case: Will/Estate Dispute & Litigation
The Situation: *Joe and *Mika knew each other in Sydney. Mika and his wife, *Jan, moved to Queensland. Mika contacted Joe and invited Joe to come and work for Mika. Mika said that he would not pay Joe a wage, but he would give Joe a house to live in. Joe and his family moved to Queensland and lived in a house owned by Jan, with a promise that the house would one day be transferred to Joe.
Case Reference: 112621
Type of Case: Commercial Litigation - Elder Law - Wills & Estates
The Situation: Elderly Mrs *Wilson appointed her neighbour, Mrs *Crick, to act on her behalf under an enduring power of attorney. Mrs Wilson paid Mrs Crick more than $300,000 by several cheques. Mrs Wilson then engaged Quinn & Scattini to act on her behalf to sue Mrs Crick to recover the money she had paid to Mrs Crick.
Case Reference: 112270
Type of Case: Will/Estate Dispute & Litigation
The Situation: Mrs *Piper died in tragic circumstances. Her husband was charged with her murder. Her will left her entire estate to her husband. The law prevents a murderer from receiving any benefit under a person’s will, but that depends on the person being first convicted of the murder; and it takes a long time for a murder trial to happen.
Case Reference: 081388
Type of Case: Will/Estate Dispute & Litigation
The Situation: When *Adrian’s father died, his will left his estate to his wife, *Ray (Adrian’s step-mother). When Ray died, her will left nothing to Adrian. Adrian engaged RMO Law to challenge Ray’s will by claiming provision from her estate. RMO Law fought the case on a “no win, no fee” basis.
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Type of Case: Driving While Disqualified - Traffic Law
The Situation: Our client was charged with unlicensed driving. We argued that it would not have been in the public interest to proceed with the original charge due to the personal circumstances of the defendant and the facts of the case.
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Type of Case: Dangerous Driving - Traffic Law
The Situation: We represented a client charged with dangerous operation of a motor vehicle who was facing a potential jail term, with a minimum six month disqualification of their licence.
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Type of Case: Drink Driving - Traffic Law
The Situation: We represented a client who was charged with a sixth offence of drink driving.
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Type of Case: Dangerous Driving - Traffic Law
The Situation: Our client was charged with perverting the course of justice with respect to a dangerous driving offence and was facing a period of imprisonment as a penalty.
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Type of Case: Criminal Law - Theft Fraud & Robbery
The Situation: We represented a client who was charged with a break and enter offence.
Case Reference: 151876
Type of Case: Franchise Disputes
The Situation: Our client operated two mobile skilled tradesperson franchise businesses across South East Queensland and had decided to sell.
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Type of Case: Criminal Law - Violent Offences
The Situation: We represented a client who was charged with serious assault of a police officer. The prosecution submitted that 12-18 months actual imprisonment would be the appropriate penalty.
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Type of Case: Criminal Law - Violent Offences
The Situation: We represented a client who was charged with a serious public nuisance charge of threatening assault with a weapon. The prosecution submitted that an actual jail term be imposed.
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Type of Case: Criminal Law - Violent Offences
The Situation: We represented a client charged with a number of charges of murder.
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Type of Case: Criminal Law - Sexual Offences
The Situation: We defended a client who was charged with sixteen very serious sexual assault related charges.
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Type of Case: Criminal Law - Drug-related Offences
The Situation: We represented a young man who pleaded guilty to a serious charge of producing dangerous drugs.
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Type of Case: Driving While Disqualified - Traffic Law
The Situation: We defended a client charged with his fifth offence of disqualified driving who was facing a period of 18 months imprisonment.
Case Reference: 140519
Type of Case: Will/Estate Dispute & Litigation
The Situation: It is very rare to have a case dismissed by a judge without even having a chance to go to trial. Often this is threatened by lawyers, but rarely does it happen. On 29 April 2014, Russell Leneham, an Accredited Specialist in Succession Law (Wills and Estates), appeared in the Supreme Court at Brisbane to argue for summary judgment in a Family Provision Application (commonly known by lawyers as an FPA). We acted for the executors – a brother and sister whose father had died leaving a will that gave his modestly-sized estate in equal shares to his seven adult children.
Case Reference: V154406
Type of Case: Will/Estate Dispute & Litigation
The Situation: We appeared in the Supreme Court to argue a case involving a handwritten document that had some appearance of being a will. The person who wrote the document was a barrister who retired in 2004 and passed away in 2014.
Case Reference:
Type of Case: Criminal Law - Theft Fraud & Robbery
The Situation: We appeared in the Magistrates Court representing a 34 year old woman pleading guilty to four social security offences that were committed at various times, from 2002 to 2012, involving a sum in excess of $55,000. The circumstances were quite unusual. Well-established law suggests that the court was bound to impose a sentence of actual imprisonment in cases like this.
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Type of Case: Commercial Litigation
The Situation: We appeared on behalf of a defendant in the District Court. It was only a mention of an originating application but our client was anxious to have the proceedings brought to an end as soon as possible. We adopted the view that proceedings should have been started by claim and statement of claim, and should therefore be struck out as it was an abuse of the court`s processes.
Case Reference: P143098
Type of Case: Will/Estate Dispute & Litigation
The Situation: Our client (we will call him *Leon) was disputing his mother’s will after she died in 2014. His father had died in 2005. Leon had always earned a living from farming his parents’ land. He had assisted his family in maintaining their blocks of land for over 30 years. He depended on being able to use all of the family’s land to earn his income. His mother’s will did not provide any land for Leon to use, leaving it instead to Leon’s siblings.
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Type of Case: Child Custody Issues - Family & De Facto Law
The Situation: Our client was an expectant father seeking time with his unborn child, upon its birth. The mother was refusing to provide the father with any information about the ongoing pregnancy or health of the child.
Case Reference: 152048
Type of Case: Criminal Law - Violent Offences
The Situation: We represented a mature man who was charged with assault occasioning bodily harm as a result of a road rage incident that resulted in bodily harm to the complainant. Our client had criminal history and had received the benefit of no conviction recorded on two prior occasions.
Case Reference: 141998
Type of Case: Criminal Law - Drug-related Offences
The Situation: We represented a man charged with significant and large scale drug trafficking under the Vicious Lawless Association Disestablishment Act 2013 (“Bikie Law”) regime.
Case Reference: 134983
Type of Case: Criminal Law - Violent Offences
The Situation: We successfully represented our clients in the court proceedings regarding the death of Wayne Dover. In November 2013, Wayne Dover and three men were involved in a fight outside a nightclub in Maroochydore that resulted in Mr Dover’s death. As a result, three men were charged with manslaughter, Matthew Hill, Blake Goldsworthy and Wade Goldsworthy.
Case Reference: L132061
Type of Case: Will/Estate Dispute & Litigation
The Situation: The deceased (“Roger”) died in Townsville in 2004. His will named friends and remote relatives as the beneficiaries of his estate and left nothing to his children. The will was made about two weeks before Roger died. Roger’s adult daughter, “Karen,” contested the validity of the will on the basis that it was made in suspicious circumstances and that Roger did not have mental capacity to make the will. As Roger had chosen to be estranged from his family for many years, the executors wanted proof of Karen’s identity.
Case Reference: 172555
Type of Case: Franchising
The Situation: Our client was the franchisee of a national coffee shop in Queensland. The arrangement was approaching renewal and we were tasked with completing a comprehensive review of the franchise agreement, licence agreement and security deed.
Case Reference: 161236
Type of Case: Franchising
The Situation: Our client was the franchisor of national cleaning business who was having difficulties with a franchisee in regards to the payment of tax invoices, resulting in the breach of the franchise agreement. Despite having met their contractual obligations to the franchisee, the franchisee would not engage with our client to resolve the issue.
Case Reference: 130366
Type of Case: Management Rights
The Situation: Our client wanted to exercise their option to renew management rights of townhouse complex on the Gold Coast, where they had caretaker and letting rights. We completed a detailed review of the caretaking agreement and letting agreement in order to identify all requirements that needed to be met to ensure the timely renewal of the management rights contract.
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Type of Case: Drink Driving - Traffic Law
The Situation: Our client was charged with high range drink driving, with a reading of 0.194. He was a mature man in his 60s, and was driving home from his local pub when intercepted. Our client was semi-retired, and caring for his wife who had suffering from kidney failure and respiratory illness. They lived in a remote area, and our client was the main driver of the household.
Case Reference: 154543
Type of Case: Conveyancing Queensland - Off-the-Plan Sales/Purchases
The Situation: Our client entered into an off-the-plan contract to purchase a block of land in August. The contract was subject to finance approval, which our client obtained in September. The development encountered massive delays and as a result the subdivision was not registered until July the following year. With the land now registered the seller called for settlement. The issue was our client’s finance approval had expired by the time the land registration occurred. With a change of circumstance, financiers tightening lending requirements and an issue with land valuation our client was unable to get finance re-approved. Our client attempted to seek finance approval from four separate banks, yet each valuation came back under the contracted purchase price resulting in the non-approval of finance.
Case Reference:
Type of Case: Conveyancing Queensland - Houses/Home Units/Land
The Situation: Our client was intent on purchasing a property in South-East Queensland. The contract was subject to a building report being obtained by our client. Our client obtained the building report and was not satisfied with the results.
Case Reference: 134437
Type of Case: Family & De Facto Law - Family Law Property Settlements
The Situation: Our client was separated from her husband and required the settlement of matrimonial property. The case involved a substantial property pool. During negotiations the wife unilaterally sold a property which was held in her sole name. She did this without the husband’s knowledge and before the case was finalised. The husband filed an urgent application to court arguing that the sale should not proceed on the basis that he had a personal attachment to the property.
Case Reference: 900595
Type of Case: Franchising
The Situation: Our client was interested in entering into a franchise agreement with a major national real estate business and required the disclosure document and franchise agreement to be urgently reviewed, as there was a limited window of opportunity for our client to enter into the arrangement. We urgently reviewed the disclosure document and franchise agreement, clause-by-clause, and provided detailed advices and recommendations.
Case Reference: 123505
Type of Case: Management Rights
The Situation: Our client owned the management rights to a large townhouse complex south of Brisbane and was looking to sell their rights. We met with our client and obtained a detailed understanding of the current business operations including any existing operational issues in order to identify issues that may have negatively impacted the sale of the rights.
Case Reference: 202167
Type of Case: Mortgage & Guarantee Advice
The Situation: Our clients were a couple who lived near Jimboomba and were going guarantor for their daughter. We were engaged to provide mortgage guarantee advice as per the bank’s loan requirements, including a certificate to confirm legal advice had been sought.
Case Reference: 165352
Type of Case: Criminal Law - Theft Fraud & Robbery
The Situation: Our client was charged with robbery and assaults for an incident that had occurred at a retail store. It involved an alleged assault against a store employee and injuries indirectly caused to two young children. Robbery is an extremely serious offence which usually results in sentences of actual custody.
Case Reference: T160944
Type of Case: Will/Estate Dispute & Litigation
The Situation: *David was diagnosed with cancer in 2015. Shortly after the diagnosis, he prepared a new will naming his son *Peter as the main beneficiary. In early 2016 David was twice admitted to hospital. During his second hospital admission, a lawyer attended at the hospital and took instructions from David for a new will. The changes included a reduced benefit for Peter.
Case Reference: 203067
Type of Case: Commercial Contracts - Corporate & Business Law
The Situation: Our client had a commercial property in Brisbane that they had decided to rent. We were engaged to prepare the commercial contract. Our work included drafting the contract, liaising with our client and other stakeholders on a variety of issues and providing detailed advice to our client on their duties and legal obligations under the contract’s terms.
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Type of Case: Criminal Law - Drug-related Offences
The Situation: We represented a client who pleaded guilty to a charge of supplying dangerous drugs. Ordinarily an offence of this nature would warrant the imposition of a jail sentence and a conviction being recorded.
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Type of Case: Criminal Law - Violent Offences
The Situation: We represented a juvenile client who was charged with murder.
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Type of Case: Criminal Law - Violent Offences
The Situation: RMO Law represented a client charged with grievous bodily harm, who was facing the likelihood of eight years imprisonment.
Case Reference: 990306
Type of Case: Franchising
The Situation: Our client was considering making a substantial investment into a franchise with an international fast food chain outlet. We carefully reviewed the franchise agreement, clause by clause, and raised problematic clauses with our client, clearly setting out their legal rights and obligations.
Case Reference: 094910
Type of Case: Franchising
The Situation: We worked closely with an Australia-wide business that provided an innovative and unique product for the home renovation and construction industries to develop over thirty franchise agreements for locations across Australia.
Case Reference: 150791
Type of Case: Management Rights
The Situation: Our client was undertaking the purchase of management rights for a townhouse block of 102 townhouses on Brisbane’s northside. After meeting with our client to receive initial instructions, we completed a detailed review of the unit and management rights contract, letting agreement and deeds of variations.
Case Reference: 163354
Type of Case: Management Rights
The Situation: Our client was completing the purchase of management rights for holiday apartments on the Sunshine Coast. After receiving detailed instructions from our client, we undertook a detailed review of all relevant documentation, including service agreements, deeds of assignment, mortgages and other loan documentation. We identified potential issues with the documentation and provided commercially astute solutions to our client.
Case Reference: 113838
Type of Case: Probate & Administration
The Situation: A will had gone missing. A firm of solicitors said that they had given the will to the executor, *Rodney. But Rodney denied that he had received it. Rodney engaged RMO Law to apply for probate of a photocopy of the will. RMO Law acted on a deferred-fee basis.
Case Reference: 160943
Type of Case: Business Purchases & Sales - Corporate & Business Law
The Situation: Our client was the owner of a café in Beenleigh and had decided to sell their business. We were engaged to prepare and negotiate the business contract, ensure a successful conveyancing settlement was reached and action all required tasks to effect the sale of the business.
Case Reference: 153606
Type of Case: Criminal Law - Internet Offences
The Situation: We represented a mature female with a charge of using a carriage service to menace, harass or cause offence. The charges involved our client leaving a number of abusive and threatening voice messages on her ex-partner’s phone, as well as an excessive amount of calls over a two week period.
Case Reference: 112309
Type of Case: Will/Estate Dispute & Litigation
The Situation: Christine’s mother made two wills in 2008 leaving the bulk of her estate to her son, with virtually nothing to Christine. Christine challenged the 2008 wills, on the basis that her mother had developed signs of dementia before she made those wills.
Case Reference: 152711
Type of Case: Criminal Law - Theft Fraud & Robbery
The Situation: RMO Law’s Criminal Law Team represented a young woman facing 5 charges of social security fraud involving a sum in excess of $17,000, as a result of failing to properly declare her income from work while also being the recipient of a Youth Allowance payment.
Case Reference: 123266
Type of Case: Wills & Estate Planning - Wills & Estates
The Situation: Mr and Mrs Watkins asked RMO Law to prepare their wills. They wanted to make a gift in their wills to a particular charity. RMO Law spoke to the CEO of the charity and discovered that the organisation had lost its deductible gift recipient (“DGR”) charitable status with the tax office and that its previous CEO was under investigation.
Case Reference: 112432
Type of Case: Will/Estate Dispute & Litigation
The Situation: Lynette made a 2003 will that gave unequal shares of her estate to her 5 children. RMO Law searched hospital records and found a copy of a later will made by Lynette in hospital in 2006. This 2006 will gave equal shares to the 5 children. If the 2006 will was declared to be valid, it would make a big difference to the value to be received by RMO Law’s client from the estate which was then estimated to be worth about $30 million. RMO Law fought the case on a “no win, no fee” basis.
Case Reference: 161547
Type of Case: Business Purchases & Sales - Corporate & Business Law
The Situation: Our client was a local business owner in Beenleigh and had decided to sell their snack shop. We were engaged to ensure the successful sale of the business, from contract negotiation and preparation through to a successful conveyancing settlement. Our experienced business lawyers commenced negotiations with the buyer and effectively negotiated agreeable terms. A business contract was expertly prepared and finalised between our team, our client, the seller and the seller’s lawyers. We then attended to the successful settlement, even reaching settlement earlier than expected.
Case Reference: 090993
Type of Case: Commercial Contracts - Corporate & Business Law
The Situation: Our client comprised of a large association with branches across Queensland. We were engaged to negotiate, advise and prepare a range of commercial contracts for an office park near Garden City. Negotiating the terms of these contacts with a developer required a strong understanding of our clients’ objectives and the provision of detailed legal advice on contractual rights and obligations. Once an agreement was reached, we then prepared the contracts.
Case Reference: 140686
Type of Case: Mortgage & Guarantee Advice
The Situation: Our clients were a couple who lived near Brisbane and were looking to source additional cash utilising a reverse mortgage. Their bank required them to obtain independent legal advice on the loan documentation prior to signing. We expertly reviewed the loan documentation and identified our clients' rights, obligations and other issues regarding the loan. We then provided a certificate to evidence that legal advice had been obtained to satisfy the requirement of the bank.
Case Reference: 211134
Type of Case: Commercial Litigation
The Situation: We appeared on behalf of a plaintiff in Magistrates Court proceedings where the plaintiff, as landlord, filed their claim against their real estate agent for breach of the agreement between the agency and our client in relation to the rental of our client’s investment property.
Case Reference: 191559
Type of Case: Traffic Law - Work Licences
The Situation: Our client, *John, had a few drinks at the pub with his friend. On his way home he was pulled over by police and breathalysed with a BAC of 0.074. He had no previous convictions for drink or drug driving on his traffic history.
Case Reference: 211389
Type of Case: Commercial Litigation
The Situation: We often see disputes between family members, where the family members not necessarily have the same view on what they agreed to. When these disputes relate to real estate property, things can get messy. Not only is there a question as to who pays the mortgage, but also as to who is entitled to reside in the property. Even if parties agree to sell the property and then argue as to who gets what percentage of the sale proceeds, the process can take up to years which is time consuming, stressful and costly for all parties involved.