Juanita’s Story

Juanita had an ongoing dispute with a former friend, Noah. She had agreed with Noah to pay for works to be done on Noah’s property so she could place a live in container there, on the understanding that they would live together in the container, and that he would repay her for the container and works if their relationship broke down. Their friendship fell apart, but Noah refused to pay Juanita.

Juanita received extensive assistance and advice from LawRight over the course of about 18 months to help her understand her potential causes of action and the litigation process, and commence and progress Magistrates Court proceedings against Noah. Juanita had difficulty understanding legal concepts and terminology and was not very good at using technology. However, LawRight’s staff, secondee and volunteer lawyers spent many hours patiently advising Juanita in writing and over the phone, making sure to explain each step as clearly as possible and helping Juanita to fix up any mistakes she made.

We helped Juanita request a Magistrates Court settlement conference, and at the settlement conference the parties agreed to settle the matter, with Noah agreeing to let Juanita remove the container from his property and keep it. Juanita said she had tried to avoid going to Court as long as possible, and she was very pleased that the matter was finally over.

Thank you all very much for the long hours spent to help me.

by Tracey Press

Joan's story - Responding to disasters

A flood‑damaged home trapped in a family dispute.

Joan was triaged to Pro Bono Connect as she could not get help elsewhere.

Joan owned her own home but then found herself in a financial hardship a few years ago. At the time, the client’s sister agreed to assist our client by jointly signing a mortgage for the property. Both our client and her sister were noted on the title as tenants in common. The sister made no financial contributions to the property. In the 2022 floods, the property was severely damaged, and a cash settlement was provided by the insurer. The sister spent the insurance money on other things because she had no need to live in the house.

Joan was left with not enough money to carry out repairs of the property. She couldn’t afford to maintain the mortgage and now needed to sell the property, but the property remained damaged and not in a state fit for sale. Joan was unable to get help anywhere else, and came to LawRight’s Pro Bono Connect service, where we assessed her application and considered her legal options.

LawRight referred Joan to a law firm for full pro bono representation to resolve her challenges.

by Tracey Press

Sam and Kat's Story - An uninhabitable home

A week after settlement, Sam & Kat discovered their home was so termite ridden it was uninhabitable

Sam and Kat’s Story

Sam and Kat have four young children, each with a disability. With their small, combined income of $56,000 they bought a house with a clear pest inspection but within a week of settlement, they discovered termite damage everywhere – the house was uninhabitable.

It seemed the real estate agent had known about the termite issues, so Sam and Kat started District Court proceedings against them but could not afford ongoing legal costs, especially when the estate agent joined other parties.

Pro bono lawyers, who first met Sam and Kat at a LawRight appointment, then directly assisted them for many hours to significantly amend the Statement of Claim. After this phase was finalised, Sam and Kat returned to LawRight for help to respond to the Defence and to prepare for mediation. A settlement payment was agreed and LawRight helped them discontinue the proceedings.

They were “incredibly thankful” for LawRight’s help and are now “planning on moving forward and putting all of this behind us”.

by Staff Editor

property dispute