As digital transactions become the majority of all transactions, from Paypal to Venmo to tap-and-go, so too does the potential for ‘fat fingering’. Maybe the man at the café charged you 45c instead of $4.50 for that coffee, or maybe a friend sent you $100 for dinner instead of $10. What does the law say in regard to this sort of mistake, and do you have to give the money back?
The Honourable Justice Elliot is considering these issues in the case of Foris GFS Australia Pty Ltd v Manivel. An employee of Crypto.com, a cryptocurrency exchange, went to transfer a $100 refund to a customer. Instead of typing in $100 into the “Amount” field, the employee typed in Manivel’s account number 10474143, resulting in an 8-digit windfall for the lucky Manivel. “Extraordinarily”, in the words of Elliot J, this mistake was not realised until 7 months later.
Unfortunately for Crypto.com, Manivel decided to share the money among 6 other people, and generously bought a $1.35m house in Craigieburn for her sister in Malaysia.
Unsurprisingly, the sister became very hard to contact when Crypto.com came asking for its money back.
Crypto.com then went off to court to try get its money back. Although Manivel used the money to buy a house and transferred it to her sister, the money is traceable. The money would not have been in her sister’s hands if it had not been accidently made by Crypto.com. In this sense, her sister was “unjustly enriched”. Crypto.com therefore is able to get the $1.35m purchase price back from Manivel’s sister, plus penalty interest. The ‘tactic’ of simply not answering the door or picking up the phone when people come asking for their money back doesn’t work.
There are two key takeaways we can glean from this.
The first is that despite all the anti-state, anti-bank marketing, even crypto companies drop the “immutable ledger no takebacks” sales pitch, and run off to court to have a bank help them out.
The second and more important lesson is that just because you handed a small pile of coins to the barista, and they handed you a $10 note back, it doesn’t mean that money is yours. If you get given too much money by mistake, you should give it back. Penalty interest hurts!
Contact us today at nevileco@nevile.com.au to find out how we may be able to help.
DISCLAIMER The contents of this newsletter are of a general nature and cannot be relied upon as legal advice. However, if you need legal advice please do not hesitate to contact any one of our lawyers.
Whether E-scooters are a miracle solution or simply another roadside nuisance depends on how many times you refresh your newsfeed. Regardless of the conflicting opinions, their rise in popularity is increasing pressure and demand for clearly defined laws surrounding their use.
Previously, the guidance provided by RACV and VicRoads stated that only electronic scooters which:
are permissible on public roads.
To put this into perspective, mobility scooters have a 250 watt capacity with a maximum speed range of 25-35 km/hr, which the average wattage across the e-scooter board is 1145 watts.
Those who did not meet the criteria, but still insisted upon challenging their grandma’s mobility scooter to a street race, could expect to receive a $909.00 fine.
Currently however, the restrictions have been tightened. According to the Road Safety Rules 2017 (Vis), riding a privately owned scooter on public roads is prohibited. The only exception is if the rider is using an e-scooter that is part of a commercial share scheme. Although this may seem disheartening for e-scooter enthusiasts, there is a silver lining.
VicRoads is currently undertaking trials within restricted regions to determine whether e-scooters can harmoniously co-exist with other vehicles and pedestrians.
These trials are ongoing and expected to produce a clearer idea for the future of privately owned e-scooters and finally set the headlines straight.
DISCLAIMER The contents of this newsletter are of a general nature and cannot be relied upon as legal advice. However, if you need legal advice please do not hesitate to contact any one of our lawyers.
What is a Trademark?
A trademark is a sign used or intended to be used to distinguish goods or services dealt with or provided in the course of trade by a person or organisation, from goods or services dealt with or provided by any other person or organisation.
A sign includes any of the following, or any combination of the following (note this :
Accordingly, a logo and any word marks may properly operate separately as a trademark. Often, you will use them in close association with each other. However, you will most likely find it beneficial to register both of these as separate trademarks.
What are the Benefits of Registration?
In general terms, once your trademark has been registered, you will obtain an Australia-wide monopoly for use of that trademark in respect of the goods or services (aka classes) for which registration was granted.
You will not obtain this right if you use your mark as a business name, domain name, or company name without registering it as a trademark.
How do I Apply for Registration?
Applications for trademark registration must be filed with IP Australia.
The current timeframe for registration is 8-12 months, however, sometimes IP Australia may expedite the process.
Applying for registration of your trademark will involve the following stages:
Are you looking to register a trademark? Contact our Commercial Team today at nevileco@nevile.com.au
There are many reasons to lodge a caveat. If you are purchasing property you can lodge a caveat over the property to ensure that the vendor does not sell the property to anyone else.
There are many reasons to lodge a caveat if you have a caveatable interest.
A caveat is a notice registered on title that prevents the registered proprietor from transferring the title to someone else. It ensures that the caveator is informed of any dealings on title.
If you have a caveatable interest in the property you can lodge a caveat at the titles office. Most caveats are lodged electronically via PEXA. Nevile & Co can assist you registering your caveatable interest online.
The important question to ask is whether or not you have a caveatable interest. If you lodge a caveat on a title that you do not have a caveatable interest in then you can find yourself in hot water. It is important to get proper legal advise before lodging a caveat. At Nevile & Co we have the expertise to provide you with appropriate and timely advise with respect to registering caveats.
Caveatable interests can arise by way of loan agreements, contracts of sale of land, pursuant to a charge, or an equitable or constructive trust for example an agreement may give a charge to a party, or a purchaser of a contract of sale of land.
When a caveatable interest arises it is important to register the caveat on title in a timely fashion, that is, as soon as the caveatable interest comes into existence you should lodge a caveat immediately to avoid any issues regarding priority.
Once the caveat is lodged the registered proprietor can not deal with the land until the caveator provides consent to the relevant dealing or withdraws the caveat. You can withdraw the caveat at any time.
If you are the registered proprietor and someone lodges a caveat over your property you can object to the caveat being lodged in which case the caveator will be required to give evidence of the interest in the land.
If it is found that a caveat has been lodged on title where there is no caveatable interest the Court may award the aggrieved party with damages for any loss suffered as a result.
For more information regarding caveats and how to register them, please contact us at nevileco@nevile.com.au and mention this newsletter.