Ninth Floor Selborne Chambers

A property dispute matter in which Adrian Maroya was involved has made the front page of today’s The Sydney Morning Herald. The landlord and tenant dispute between Wallalong Land Developments Pty Ltd and Charles Joseph Warren, was described as being “lifted from the script of the classic Australian film The Castle”. Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/gn7fNv4p

The Supreme Court of New South Wales (Slattery J) has delivered judgment in Gemi 193 Pty Ltd v Zhu [2024] NSWSC 1113, in which Andre Zahra SC appeared (leading James Lee of Tenth Floor Chambers and instructed by Amie Crichton and Joshua Carton) for the successful defendant, Mrs Zhu. Justice Slattery rejected financier Gemi's claims against Mrs Zhu in relation to a loan agreement and guarantee procured from her, finding that Gemi's conduct was unconscionable and that Mrs Zhu is entitled to relief setting aside the loan agreement and guarantee by reason of Gemi’s unconscionable conduct and also pursuant to s. 7 of the Contracts Review Act 1980 (NSW). The case demonstrates the sort of conduct by a lender which the courts will not condone and the risk of loan agreements, guarantees and securities being set aside when lenders obtain guarantees in that way. See the full judgment here: https://lnkd.in/gsXWpK-N

Congratulations to Thomas Bagley for his inclusion in the Doyle's Guide rankings for Leading Class Action Barristers - Australia, 2024. See the full guide here: https://lnkd.in/gPsd-Dnd

Thank you to all who came to the AILA’s “Insurers in Court” Mock Trial which was conducted in the Supreme Court Banco Court before the Hon. Justice Cavanagh. The evening was a great success with over 200 insurance and legal professionals in attendance and, with a victory for the (insured) Plaintiff represented by Ninth Floor Selborne Chambers's Andre Zahra SC and Josh Sukkar in an interesting fictional case concerning an insurance claim following the cancellation of a music festival as a result of bushfire dangers. The mock trial case raised a number of interesting legal and factual issues and was based on the real and recent case of Commens t/as Subsonic Music v Certain Lloyd’s Underwriters subscribing to Policy No ALTCNX1900332 (Trial Judgment) [2024] FCA 434 before Jackman J (in which the insured lost!), see: https://lnkd.in/gVm6RUpR   The evening concluded at Verandah Bar, where Insurance Law professionals gathered to discuss their speciality over a glass of champagne. We are very grateful to Marcus Vella for his efforts in ensuring the success of the event.

Andre Zahra SC and Josh Sukkar will be appearing for the Plaintiffs at the upcoming AILA "Insurers in Court" Mock Trial to be conducted before the Honourable Justice Cavanagh on Wednesday 14 August 2024.   The Mock Trial will commence in the Banco Court of the Supreme Court of New South Wales at 5:30pm followed by drinks and canapes at the Verandah Bar. The event will be a great opportunity to network with Insurance Law professionals.   The AILA have just released a limited number of additional tickets after selling out initially. Secure your spot here, https://lnkd.in/grpvBvX2

Phillip Lonergan recently spoke at Tahota Law Firm's seminar based in Xi’an, China. Mr Lonergan gave a presentation on the different approach to Commercial Litigation in Australia and China. He then joined the Partners in a roundtable discussion and answered questions relating to Chinese Enterprises landing in Australia. The seminar was joined by numerous solicitors, directors and entrepreneurs in both countries and was highly regarded amongst attendees. Mr Lonergan will be presenting similar seminars to Australian/Chinese firms over the coming months. If you think your firm could benefit in hearing Mr Lonergan’s presentation, please contact his clerk, Ella Baxendale on +61 2 8915 2101 or [email protected].

Congratulations to Jack Hynes and Ben Koch for being recognised in Doyle's Guide as Leading Insolvency & Restructuring Junior Counsel – NSW, 2024. See the full list here: https://lnkd.in/gpjGA7D8 Jack Hynes was also recently listed as Leading Commercial Litigation & Dispute Resolution Junior Counsel – New South Wales, 2024, see: https://lnkd.in/gav99FpR

Ninth Floor Selborne Chambers is pleased to welcome our new reader, Amir Chowdhury. Amir accept briefs in all areas of the law, with a particular interest in commercial disputes and class actions. Prior to coming to the Bar, Amir practised as a Senior Associate at Corrs Chambers Westgarth, where he worked on disputes across the Supreme Court of New South Wales, the Supreme Court of Western Australia, the Federal Court of Australia and private arbitral tribunals. Amir has held previous positions as an Associate to the Hon Justice Kathleen Farrell of the Federal Court of Australia and as an Analyst at leading investment bank, Jarden. Amir holds a Juris Doctor (with Distinction, Order of Merit), Bachelor of Science (Physics) and a Bachelor of Commerce (Finance) from the University of New South Wales. Amir can be contacted on 02 8915 2154 or [email protected], or through his Clerk, Ella Baxendale on 02 8915 2101. More information about Amir, including his CV, can be found here: https://lnkd.in/gBqTT8vD   We look forward to working with Amir during his reading year and the years to come.

Katrina Howard SC continues to be listed in Doyle's Guide's Intellectual Property Senior Counsel - New South Wales 2024 rankings. Congratulations Katrina! See the full list here: https://lnkd.in/g6h-RVa5

Ninth Floor Selborne Chambers congratulate our eight barristers who were featured in 2025 edition of Best Lawyers for their expertise in various areas of law: 1.      The Hon P A Bergin AO SC – Alternative Dispute Resolution 2.      Katrina Howard SC – Intellectual Property Law 3.      Jack Hynes – Insolvency and Reorganisation Law 4.      Mark Newton – Insurance Law 5.      Michael Swanson – Shipping and Maritime Law 6.      Frank Tao – Insolvency and Reorganisation Law 7.      Josh Sukkar - featured on the Ones to Watch list for Insurance Law 8.      Andrew Berriman - also featured on the Ones to Watch list for International Arbitration and Litigation See the listings here: https://lnkd.in/gkxPyWfm