Claims extracted
20
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
10%
2 of 20 hedged
("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
68/100
ABC News (AU)'s corrections and
hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Crime & Law
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
In short:
The Supreme Court has found two Canberra lawyers tried to deter a former partner from pursuing contractual entitlements.
asserted
lawyers → find → entitlements
Erin Taylor successfully argued she was owed a refund or buyback of shares she had bought in the law firm.
What's next?
The court is set to issue orders and determine costs at a later date.
asserted
court → argue → date
Two Canberra lawyers took active steps to deter a former partner from pursuing $500,000 owed to her following both a bitter personal and professional relationship breakdown, a court has found.
asserted
court → take → breakdown
Erin Taylor took Aulich Civil Law partners Benjamin Aulich and Peter Woodhouse to the ACT Supreme Court, seeking $500,000 she paid to buy 25 per cent of the civil law firm's shares in 2019.
asserted
she → take → 2019
She claimed she was contractually owed a refund or buyback of the shares because she left the firm within five years.
asserted
she → claim → years
In a decision published this month, Acting Justice Audrey Balla found Mr Woodhouse and Mr Aulich "embarked on a campaign" to deter Ms Taylor from pursuing her contractual entitlements.
asserted
Woodhouse → publish → entitlements
Acting Justice Balla found the pair "declined to engage with Ms Taylor's repeated direct queries about how and when the money would be paid".
asserted
money → act → queries
That included Mr Woodhouse blocking Ms Taylor from contacting him on his mobile phone and later deciding to block Ms Taylor from sending any more emails to the firm.
asserted
Woodhouse → include → firm
Mr Woodhouse sent an internal message saying Ms Taylor was "not sending anything productive.
asserted
Taylor → send → anything
The message went on to say:
"I think we'd all be better off if she just f***s off and leaves us alone".
asserted
she → go → us
Acting Justice Balla also found Mr Woodhouse and Mr Aulich "deliberately delayed paying Ms Taylor her leave entitlements as part of their strategy to ignore her claims and deter her from pursuing the claim for the share buyback".
uncertain
Woodhouse → act → buyback
Breakdown of personal relationship
Mr Woodhouse placed the firm into voluntary administration in September 2024, in what acting Justice Balla found was a decision made for himself and Mr Aulich to "obtain an advantage in this litigation".
asserted
himself → place → litigation
"Their decisions were motivated to achieve unfairness,"Justice Balla said.
asserted
Balla → motivate → unfairness,"Justice
That conduct followed a breakdown in a more than five-year personal relationship between Ms Taylor and Mr Aulich, which was followed by the professional relationship between the three partners becoming "strained".
asserted
relationship → follow → partners
According to the decision, a meeting in a cafe about workloads between Ms Taylor and Mr Aulich in February 2024 ended abruptly, with Mr Aulich telling Ms Taylor to "get f***ed and f*** off" while he raised his middle finger at her.
uncertain
he → accord → her
"He walked off with his middle finger raised over his shoulder,"the decision said.
asserted
decision → walk → shoulder,"the
"This occurred in front of a colleague and a client.
asserted
This → occur → colleague
Mr Aulich agreed in cross-examination that he had publicly humiliated Ms Taylor."
Acting Justice Balla found Mr Woodhouse and Mr Aulich breached an agreement by failing to purchase the $500,000 shares.
"It should have been paid by one month after Ms Taylor's final day," the decision said.
asserted
decision → agree → day
She also found Mr Aulich and Mr Woodhouse engaged in oppressive conduct and breached statutory and fiduciary obligations.
asserted
Aulich → find → obligations
The court is set to issue orders and determine costs at a later date.
asserted
court → set → date
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