Lawyers & Case Law

Various reports by lot owners have been circulating for years that some lawyers and law firms have been running legal claims against lot owners in various tribunals/courts without a legal basis.

Solicitor Adrian Mueller created dangerous precedence in two CTTT/NCAT cases (SCS 12/32675 and SC 20/33352) which, based on the Australian legal system, allow other parties to use as a valid defence. BCS Strata Management and later Waratah Strata management, and committee members failed to inform owners about the solicitor’s predictive behaviour, contempt of court, falsified documents and insurance claims in two CTTT/NCAT cases in 2012/2013 (SCS 12/32675 and SCS 12/50460, conducted by Tribunal member M. Harrowell) and 2020/2021 (SC20/33352, conducted by Tribunal member G.J.Sarginson)  

NCAT has been ignoring pleas by lot owners where they have clearly stated lawyers appearing for owners corporations have not been legally engaged and or owners’ corporations are not aware of the proceedings afoot.

There appears to be a correlation between NCAT presiding member Harrowell, BCS strata management and reported unfavourable losses and Orders against lot owners in strata. Further, Tribunal Members Blake, Simons and others have made irregular findings to the detriment of lot owners. It appears  NCAT is a biased tribunal.

This is a dangerous precedent set by NCAT for ongoing fraud and extortion of money from individual lot owners. Coinciding with this is the compounded effect where the lot owner is often denied access to search records and or given very little, or many irrelevant records when they do a search.

Accountability for those lawyers found to misrepresent owners and take legal fees has been lacking with the Office of the Legal Services Commissioner(OLSC).

The OLSC, we believe from the extensive documents given to this office, has protected lawyers who rip off apartment owners in strata and run claims lacking any real defence at law.

In our member’s section which will be going up shortly, we will give the details of some of these cases where a lot owner had no debts against their lot but the lawyers and owners corporation and the strata manager, being BCS Strata management still managed to extort over $100,000.00 in legal fees claiming there was a case.

We have obtained and I have personally experienced, several legal scams against lot owners.

Suffice to say there were many lawyers involved in the extortion of over $100,00.00 from one lot owner in strata scheme 78207. The main lawyers were;

Chambers Russell Lawyers
Several Costs Assessors (still to go before authorities)
Lawyer/s in the strata committee representing the owners corporation
BCS Strata management company writing statements to court for the owners corporation.

The lawyers and Barristers who we engaged to defend these claims were;

Remington & Co
Pikes & Verekers Lawyers
Lawyer No 3 (not named currently as they are subject to complaints for authorities & or court proceedings)
Barrister No1 (not named currently as they are subject to complaints before authorities & or court proceedings)
Barrister No2 (not named currently as they are subject to complaints for authorities & or court proceedings)

Speirs Ryan Lawyers are also reported to make up false claims in the tribunal against lot owners.

The Law Society of NSW should be mandatorily involved when alarm bells of several lawyers being involved in legal scams against lot owners. Keeping the complaints within the OLSC is insufficient trust the public have the matter will be investigated impartially.

Lawyers and barristers are an integral and important part of the administration of justice in NSW.
Denying their clients access to natural justice and procedural fairness is not characteristic of a democratic advanced country.
The public expects and rightly deserves that all lawyers and barristers will act within the law and uphold their oaths when engaged in their occupation.