Practitioners The latest word from VCAT as to closures and adjournments on account of COVID-19 is the following that is currently being circulated to parties to proceedings: VCAT venues are currently closed to the public to reduce the potential risk of COVID-19 transmission.  No face-to-face hearings are being scheduled, and all non-critical cases which are […]

Practitioners, VCAT yesterday circulated the attached text in an email to parties to proceedings, although I am aware that not all practitioners with current proceedings have received a copy: VCAT is committed to continuing to provide dispute resolution services to the public, especially in critical areas. However, in the interests of increasing social distancing in […]

My friend, colleague and fellow blogger Robert Hay QC recently wrote a post here about the Supreme Court decision in Richmond Football Club Ltd v Verraty Pty Ltd [2019] VSC 597. The decision is significant for a number of reasons. First, the decision is the last decision about retail leasing from his Honour Justice Croft, […]

Following recent uncertainty about the application of the Retail Leases Act 2003 (Vic), the Minster for Small Business today published a determination under s 5(1)(e) and 4(2)(h) of the RLA 2003 that exempts farm leases from the operation of the RLA 2003, effective from 29 October 2019. A copy of the determination is available here. Again, […]

A new Retail Leases Amendment Bill 2019 (Vic) was tabled before Victorian Parliament yesterday and had its second reading today. A copy of the Bill is available here: RLA Bill 2019. The Bill is not a wholesale review of the Retail Leases Act 2003 (Vic).  The purpose of the Bill is to (see clause 1): (a) to […]

This is the second post in a series that I am publishing on the application of the RLA 2003 and the ultimate consumer test since the CB Cold Storage appeal. In Bulk Powders Pty Ltd v Seicon Pty Ltd (Building and Property) [2018] VCAT 2000 from December 2018, Senior Member Forde at VCAT considered a […]

My good friend and fellow retail leasing blogger Robert Hay QC has just posted a note here about the recent decision of Senior Member Forde at VCAT in Verraty Pty Ltd v Richmond Football Club Ltd [2019] VCAT 1073, which confirmed that a retail premises lease can ‘jump out’ of, or have a ‘late exit’ from the RLA […]

In the decision of Phillips v Abel [2019] VCAT 1031, handed down last week, VCAT held that: a lease of a quarry where the tenant processed and sold to members of the public sand extracted from the site was a lease of retail premises under the Retail Leases Act 2003 (Vic) (RLA 2003); and late provision […]

Legislation came in force on 1 July 2018 that prevents a party terminating a contract under an insolvency clause, also known as an “ipso facto” clause if the other party is a company and has a receiver appointed or is placed into administration. Much has been written about the legislation. However, one of the most […]

Clients often want to challenge a determination of the current market rent under a retail premises lease. The grounds for setting aside a rental determination are quite narrow. However, three recent cases have seen rental determinations under the RLA 2003 set aside because the specialist retail valuer failed to provide ‘detailed reasons’ as required under […]