Frank Law Blog

A shareholders agreement is a binding contract between the shareholders of a company which outlines their key rights and obligations. While it is not a requirement, it is a good idea to set one up at the beginning of a new business venture wherever there are two or more shareholders. Having a shareholders agreement will allow for the smooth function of your business by preventing disputes.

In our last article we introduced the Security for Payment legislation through the Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act (NSW) 1999 (“SOPA”) whereby creditors can enforce progress payments in accordance with their contract.

Most commercial contracts will have a dispute resolution clause. This clause will outline the steps the parties are to take if a dispute arises.

When construction defects arise, owners must decide whether to allow the original builder to fix it. The primary concern is whether the recipient of the building work is acting unreasonably by not allowing the builder to remedy their defective work.

Indemnity clauses effectively allocate risk between the parties. The danger, however, is when the clause is more extensive than the party thought when they entered into the agreement.