R Lawyers v. Mr Daily & Anor
Case No.
Case no A8/2025
Case Information
Lower Court Judgment
17/10/2024 Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 1) Appellate Division (Aldridge, Tree and Campton JJ)
Catchwords
Contract law – Negligence – Where parties to a marriage entered into a binding financial agreement – Where the purpose of the agreement was to agree in advance how the parties’ existing and after-acquired property would be divided in the event of their later separation – Where advice of solicitors for one party in relation to the preparation and negotiation of agreement was inadequate – Where, following the parties’ separation, the financial agreement was found to be unenforceable – Whether the party’s contract claim against former solicitors was statute barred – Time when a negligently drawn contract first sees damage sustained – Whether loss and damage was sustained by the party upon entry into the defective contract or a later date – Where primary judge found that no loss or damage was sustained by the party until, at the earliest, the date of separation, such that the party’s claim against his former solicitors was not statute barred – Where through a solicitor’s negligence in the drafting and preparation of a contract a client fails to secure contractual protection against a contingent loss or liability – Whether actionable damage is sustained immediately at the time of the entry into the contract or only upon the occurrence of the contingency.
Documents*
06/03/2025 Determination
20/03/2025 Notice of appeal
17/04/2025 Written submissions (Appellant)
17/04/2025 Chronology (Appellant)
08/05/2025 Written submissions (Respondent)
15/05/2025 Reply
*The due dates shown for documents on this page are indicative only.