Reply To: Taking a neighbour to the Local Court

Hey Austman,

You write:
... that self representation at court level can both waste the court’s time and be a major disadvantage to the self representing party.

It’s because self representing parties tend to have both poor legal knowledge and a poor understanding of how the legal system works.  It puts them at a major disadvantage that can end up frustrating everyone involved.

I know the law as it relates to this matter. I don’t know the legal system, but it was straight forward on the day. Nobody pulled any rabbits out of any hat.
A barrister I met casually some time ago told me that against the neighbour, I had a (strong) claim in nuisance and (a lesser claim) in negligence (the neighbour breached By Law 1 as he robbed my tenants of their right to quiet enjoyment, that was the basis of the NCAT outcome).

What do you think a solicitor would have charged for a small claims (under $20k) matter at the LC?

Note: I spoke to barristers not solicitors about handling the matter and their fees did not make economic sense to me, especially if they lost the case but also if they won.