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21.01.2022 Debt collector fined $500,000 for harassment and misleading consumers. Case Name: Australian Competition and Consumer Commission v Panthera Finance Pty Ltd [2020] FCA 340

21.01.2022 DIVORCE LAW WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW There are four essential points to know in relation to a divorce. (1) Firstly, the Application for Divorce is a separate legal process to other family law matters. For instance, the Application for Divorce is separate to splitting assets, child custody, spousal maintenance, and child support. Each has their own legal process.... (2) Secondly, the only ground for divorce is that your marriage must be broken down irretrievably. In order to establish this, you must be separated for a minimum of 12 months. You both can live in the one house during this separation period, however, you will need to demonstrate that there has been a change after separation. For example, before separation you had a joint bank account and after separation, you created individual bank accounts. Other examples include sleeping in different rooms, no longer attending social events as a couple, and/or no longer engaging in couple activities. (3) Thirdly, if you have children, the arrangements for your children must be organised prior to filing for divorce. If the arrangements have not been organised, your divorce will not be granted. These arrangements include your child’s health, education, financial support, and spend-time. (4) Lastly, an Application for Divorce is completed on the website called ‘Commonwealth Courts Portal’. You simply set up an account, answer the questions and follow the required steps. Many people complete the Application for Divorce themselves, however, others may need legal assistance depending upon their unique circumstances. The filing fee to the Federal Circuit Court of Australia is $910 or $305 if you have a Centrelink card. ------------------------------ Read the rest of our 12,570 word guide to divorce.

20.01.2022 This is an old defamation case from England in 1769. Defamation is the area of law concerned with protecting a person's reputation. In this case, Mr. Monsley published the following letter: "Old Villers, so strong of brimstone you smell, As if not long since you had got out of hell ; But this damnable smell I can no longer bear,... Therefore I desire you would come no more here ; You old stinking, old nasty, old itchy old toad, If you come any more, you shall pay for your board, You'll therefore take this as a warning from me, And never more enter the doors, while they belong to J. P. - "Wilncoat, December 4, 1767." The insinuation was that Mr. Villers' had a bad odour and had a disease. One of the judges said, "Nobody will eat, drink, or have any intercourse with a person who has the itch and stinks of brimstone; therefore I think this libel actionable, and that judgment must be for the plaintiff (Mr. Villers)." ----------------------- Case Name: Villers v Monsley (1769) 95 E.R. 886

19.01.2022 Jay and Deanne Windross were parents of their 11-month-old daughter, Amiyah. Amiya was in hospital dying from a neurological disease which caused her to have an ineffective swallow reflex. She required a stomach tube so that she could receive nutrients. She had virtually no body tone, could not raise her head, suffered great physical discomfort, thrashing about constantly, and could sleep for only 15 minutes maximum at a time and only while being held by one of her parents. D...Continue reading

17.01.2022 In around 2005, there were a series of youth gangs in Melbourne Victoria. This case involved the gangs named SNK, Little Fitzroy, Young Richmond and Old Richmond. Hieu Huu Nguyen, the accused, and a group of other SNK members approached Hai Nguyen from Little Fitzroy to arrange a fight between the two groups. SNK and Little Fitzroy were in conflict because a member from SNK had been making romantic advances to Hai’s girlfriend. The next day, Hieu picked up a number of... SNK members and collected a bag of weapons including at least three Samurai swords, machetes, knives, and metal poles. Hieu himself possessed a 30cm Samurai sword. Little Fitzroy also gathered weapons including machetes, Samurai swords, poles and baseball bats. Tuan Mai, the Little Fitzroy leader, possessed a full-size Samurai sword. SNK and Young Richmond were first to arrive at Fitzroy Gardens and Old Richmond later arrived unarmed to observe the fight. Some time after, Little Fitzroy arrived and SNK and Young Richmond charged towards them. It was estimated that there were between 30 and 70 members of SNK and between 10 and 15 members of Little Fitzroy. Tuan led Little Fitzroy against SNK and Young Richmond and when the groups collided, Hieu attempted to stab Tuan with his 30cm Samurai sword with an underhand movement aimed at the stomach region. Tuan took a step backwards and then produced his full-size Samurai sword, initially holding it by his side. For a second time, Hieu attempted to stab Tuan with his sword in an underhand movement aiming at the stomach. Tuan stepped back but this time responded by swinging his own Samurai sword at Hieu and missed. Hieu for a third time attempted to stab Tuan with his sword but Tuan then put both hands on his full-size sword and swung at Hieu's head. Hieu raised his left hand in a reflex to protect his head and ducked, but he was horrifically injured when his hand was completely severed at the wrist. He screamed with pain and fell to the ground. SNK and Young Richmond then ran away with Little Fitzroy chasing them. Two of the SNK members took Hieu to St Vincent's Hospital. Police searched for and recovered the Hieu’s hand a short time later and took it to St Vincent's where it was surgically reattached. There had been numerous members of the public present in Fitzroy Gardens at the time of the incident, including picnickers and joggers and others attending a seminar at the nearby Dallas Brookes Hall, many of whom would have been alarmed and no doubt traumatised by these events. Hieu pleaded guilty to (1) affray and (2) attempting to cause serious injury intentionally and was sentenced to 2 years imprisonment. Tuan pleaded guilty to (1) affray and (2) recklessly causing serious injury and was sentenced to 2.5 years imprisonment. ______________________________________ Case Name: R v Nguyen [2006] VSCA 39

17.01.2022 'Turns out, determining the true ratio is not as simple as identifying 'the reason for deciding.''

16.01.2022 The case of Cahan & Kafka [2019] FCCA 2421 (30 August 2019) provides an example of where a parent was denied their application to relocate the child to a different city. In this case, the mother received a job offer which would result in a substantial wage increase. However, the job was located in Sydney which would require her to move. Both parents were located in Melbourne. The Wife’s Submissions: The wife submitted to the Court that her new job would provide... a significant advancement to her career. She also submitted that it would be impractical for her to live in Melbourne and fly between Sydney and Melbourne on a regular basis. She lastly submitted that she wanted to pursue a relationship with a man in Sydney. The Husband’s Submissions: The Husband submitted that if the Mother moved to Sydney with the child, the child would lose regular contact with the Father. If the father regularly visited the child in Sydney, the expenses would significantly increase due to flights and accommodation. Additionally, in the arrangement that the child alternated between Sydney and Melbourne, the child would spend large amounts of time travelling. Lastly, it would be impractical for the Father to move to Sydney as the Father is quite old and would find it difficult to find a new job. He also has no friends or family in Sydney, and does not own any property or have any history in Sydney. The Law: Section 60CA of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) holds that the best interests of the child is paramount. Additionally, the objects of the Act provides that one of the purposes of the act is to ensure ‘that children have the benefit of both of their parents having a meaningful involvement in their lives’. The Judge’s Decision: The Court made the determination that the child was not to move to Sydney. The Court reasoned that it was impractical for the Father to fly between cities or for the Father to relocate and start his life afresh. Lastly, if the Mother relocated, the child would not have the same level of involvement and would in effect experience the loss of a Father. See more

13.01.2022 Mr Steven Spring, a clinical psychologist, provided couples therapy for Carolina Winters (fake name) and Tony Carter (fake name). Steven also provided individual therapy for Carolina. Carolina received treatment from Steven for 5 months and during treatment, Carolina understandably disclosed highly personal matters about herself and about her husband Tony. After a few months, Carolina and Steven started an intimate and sexual relationship. Tony later found out about the relat...ionship from emails between Carolina and Steven. After Tony found out, he made a series of death threats to Steven. Steven disclosed to his other patients that he had received death threats and in light of this, he might need to suddenly cancel treatment. He also asked one of his patients for the contact details of a hitman. The Psychology Board of Australia stated that Steven’s patients likely felt frightened by this information as they probably thought that a violent man may enter the room during their therapy sessions. Dr Varghese prepared a report about Steven's professional behaviour and stated that Steven had a disturbing lack of insight and a lack of empathy for his patients. Steven was held liable for Professional Misconduct for having an intimate and sexual relationship with a patient and for disclosing personal information to his patients. He was banned from practising as a clinical psychologist for 2 years and 6 months and he was ordered to pay the Psychology Board of Australia’s legal fees. -------------- Case Name: Psychology Board of Australia v Spring [2015] QCAT 314

12.01.2022 Jason (the attacker) and Dwayne (the victim) were neighbours in a set of units. One night, Dwayne and his girlfriend were returning home to their unit and on their way they passed Jason's unit. Jason's dog started barking and Dwayne yelled shut up and then walked inside into his own unit with his girlfriend. Jason’s step daughter, Jemma, walked out and over to Dwayne to confront him with a baseball bat. The two yelled at each other and soon after Jason walked over to Jemma ...and Dwayne with a 12gauge shotgun. Jemma noticed the shotgun and then tried to remove it from Jason by pushing and pulling him and directing the gun downwards. During the physical struggle, the gun went off and shot Dwayne in the chest. Dwayne died from the gunshot. Jason was charged with murder but offered a guilty plea of manslaughter. The prosecution accepted. In sentencing Jason, the court considered a range of factors. The factors which weighed against Jason included the fact that the gun was loaded and that he should have known this. Additionally, he should not have had a sawn-off shotgun in the first place. Lastly, the altercation took place in front of children. Some factors which weighed in favour of Jason included the fact that he did not intentionally shoot Dwayne. While he acted dangerously by bringing a loaded gun, the struggle between Jemma and himself is what caused the gun to go off. Lastly, Jason pleaded guilty rather than going to trial and he expressed genuine remorse. The maximum sentence for manslaughter is 20 years in prison and Jason was ordered to 6. ------------------------- Case Name: R v Ashman [2020] VSC 105

10.01.2022 Book Summary. Enjoy! (8 min read)

05.01.2022 DRUNK MAN ATTEMPTED TO BURN DOWN PETROL STATION Mr Damien Jones was at a petrol station one night and he walked up to the night service window and bought a cigarette lighter. He left and shortly returned to the window and demanded money from the female attendant. The female attendant closed the window. Then, Damien went to the petrol bowser, took out the pump and tried to set alight the nozzle with the lighter. However, no petrol came out at the pump was locked. As there was ...no petrol, he extended the hose in order for a small amount of petrol to dribble from it and pool on the ground. Damien lit the small pool of petrol. Next, Damien went to the side of the petrol station and released the valve on a large liquid propane gas cylinder. He then stepped back and pegged his lighter at the gas cylinder hoping it would explode. However, nothing happened. Damien then walked away. Police soon arrived and the fire brigade was called to turn the gas off. Around a week later, Damien, accompanied by his father handed himself into the police. Damien was sentenced to 2 years and 9 months to prison for attempted armed robbery. __________________________________ Case Name: R v Jones [2020] NSWDC 147

05.01.2022 Mr. Limboro was a chiropractor in Sydney. On his website, he made the following claims within some articles: Cancer is 100% preventable. "... Another kind of cancer prevention that is believed to most effective and beneficial is chiropractic treatment.... By having a regular visit to a chiropractor, people can rest assured that are [sic] prevented from having cancer. Chiropractic focuses on treating any misalignment in your posture (which mostly is in the spine) which is believed to be the cause of all diseases in the body, including cancers. When the posture problems are solved, the cancer can also be cured. During court, a medical expert reported, ...there is no credible evidence that: misalignment of the spine is a cause of any form of cancer; that chiropractic treatment can prevent any form of cancer; or that chiropractic treatment can cure or treat any form of cancer. Further, the Chiropractic Board of Australia put out a statement which said that there was insufficient evidence that chiropractic methods can improve organic diseases or infections, "ADHD, autistic spectrum disorders, asthma, infantile colic, bedwetting, ear infections and digestive problems." Mr. Limboro argued that he had no idea that his articles made those claims because he outsourced his articles to another person. He also argued during cross-examination that he did not think his domain name, www.cancercuresydney.com.au, was misleading because the term 'cure' can also mean 'pickled'. Further, a witness of Mr. Limboro, who was also a chiropractor stated, Chiropractic may or may not cure cancer, who knows? It is just medical dogma that says it can’t we’re not allowed to say so. You don’t know, in 20 years’ time we’ll know that chiropractic does help. The court held that Mr. Limboro was guilty of 1) advertising services in a misleading way, and 2) using testimonials in advertisements. He was fined $29,500. He was also held unfit to be a chiropractor and he was banned from practicing for 2 years. --------------------------- Case Name: Health Care Complaints Commission v Limboro [2018] NSWCATOD 117

04.01.2022 This law comes from the Code of Ur-Nammu which is one of the oldest written set of laws in the world. The code had 32 laws and was created in around 21002050 BC, Nippur. Nippur was a city located in Iraq.

01.01.2022 This law comes from the The Code of Hammurabi which is one of the oldest written set of laws in the world. These laws were the result of 282 cases decided during Hammurabi's rule in 17921750 BC, Babylon (now Iraq).