When Process Becomes Power: Lessons from Gollin v Karenlee Nominees
Rent review clauses look technical, but when markets tighten and negotiations falter, they become pressure points. Gollin v Karenlee Nominees remains the High Court’s most important reminder that valuation machinery must be transparent, communicated and contractually disciplined — lessons every modern executive should understand.
Power in Possession vs Fairness in Oversight
When $18.6 million worth of furniture shipments were locked in Australian ports, Nick Scali turned to the Federal Court. In Nick Scali v Lion Global Forwarding (2024), the Court upheld a freight forwarder’s lien — confirming that possession can lawfully hold power. But Clean Law’s Escrow Oversight model shows a better way: how to keep both goods and fairness moving without risk.
Power in Shutdown vs Fairness in Lawful Continuity
When Sydney’s Quarrymans Hotel was sold just before COVID lockdowns, the buyer refused to settle — claiming the pub wasn’t operating in its “usual and ordinary course.” The High Court disagreed. In Dyco v Laundy Hotels (2023), it ruled that a vendor need only run its business lawfully, not normally, when pandemic restrictions apply. The case is now the definitive guide to commercial contracts under supervening legal change.
When Two People Sign the Same Contract but Mean Two Different Things
When two businessmen signed a Mandarin contract without lawyers, they thought “equity” meant land. The Court of Appeal in Sui v Jiang (2021) showed why translation gaps can turn million-dollar ventures into years of litigation. The Court reaffirmed that commercial certainty depends not on language, but on the law’s view of intention — and how fairness survives imperfect words.