Investigative Journalism and Learning Hub - UPDATE - LOT 158 REQUESTS TO SETTLE COSTS IGNORED BY SOLICITOR ADRIAN MUELLER AND SP52948 NCAT File No. SC 20/33352 - 2Feb2022

b) Throughout 2021 and 2022, financial status is getting worse and worse, with Admin Fund status negative balance of $116,068.14 as of 30 January 2022:

SP52948 Balance Status on 29 January 2021, Admin Fund negative balance of $18,859.76

SP52948 Balance Status on 25 April 2021, Admin Fund negative balance of $24,560.03

SP52948 Balance Status on 31 July 2021, Admin Fund negative balance of $22,323.34

SP52948 Balance Status on 31 October 2021, Admin Fund had negative balance of $120,210.65 (one day before next collection of levies on 1 November 2021). This negative balance was extremely opposite from what Waratah Strata Management listed just three days earlier, on the day of general meeting on 28 October 2021 without disclosure to owners, Admin Fund has alleged balance of $1,019.14 (three days before next collection of levies on 1 November 2021)

SP52948 Balance Status on 8 December 2021, Admin Fund holding just $1,263.46 (close to two months before next collection of levies is due on 1 February 2022)

SP52948 Balance Status on 24 December 2021, Admin Fund has negative balance of $49,429.69 (more than one month before next collection of levies is due on 1 February 2022)

SP52948 Balance Status on 7 January 2022, Admin Fund has negative balance of $53,036.39 (one month before next collection of levies is due on 1 February 2022)

SP52948 Balance Status on 19 January 2022, Admin Fund has negative balance of $112,530.07 (11 days before next collection of levies is due on 1 February 2022)

SP52948 Balance Status on 30 January 2022, Admin Fund has negative balance of $116,068.14 (2 days before next collection of levies is due on 1 February 2022)

SP52948 Minutes of committee meeting on 23 September 2021 - shortage of $1,515,541.00 in Capital Works Fund against the forecast in April 2017 that was allegedly approved without general meeting. Annual general meeting was held on 28 October 2021, and no owner received email or printed copy of rushed updates to Capital Works Fund which simply delayed all major repairs, effectively made balance looked artificially positive. Agenda for AGM 2021 was dispatched on 7 October 2021 and BIV's updated Capital Works Fund plan was created a day earlier but not presented to owners corporation to approve or vote at general meeting on 28 October 2021

In spite of very concerning financial status, Lot 151 (ex-committee member) had colorbond gate door installed on common property in January 2022 (without any information to owners or formal approval to change common property), which means Mrs. Maureen MacDonald must cover at least 50% of the costs (you can verify the laws). There was no valid reason to install the gate opening as no other owner in the complex has the same privilege, and there are many more pressing matters to use common funds for.

By installing gate opening on colorbond fence, each owner on ground floor of the four buildings now has the same rights.

c) In spite of all pleas, and even formal decision in NCAT 20/33352, common property oin Lot 158 is not maintained. Ceiling in sunroom, due to water leaks near electrical lighting, is a fire and OH&S risk and unrepaired since September 2020, as screenshot of outstanding tasks from Waratah Strata Managemetn website confirms.

d) All attempts to discuss and settle alleged costs in NCAT 20/33352 were ignored by you and Solicitor Adrian Mueller.

e) Lot 158 requests for copies of strata files that were submitted many times, including O'Brien Criminal & Civil Solicitors' letter dated 24 April 2020 will have to be addressed, no matter if someone wishes to ignore it.

For the record, as of 1 July 2021, new regulation was introduced: there is now an obligation for the owners corporation to serve a copy of the NCAT application on each and every lot owner. This is a change from the previous law where it was sufficient to place a copy of the application on the notice board (which also was not complied with in previous instances in our complex).

f) For other issues, you can read the file below.

Please be sensible and try to avoid unnecessary costs and embarrassment.

Regards,

-------- Forwarded Message --------

Subject:	UPDATE - LOT 158 REQUESTS TO SETTLE COSTS IGNORED BY SOLICITOR ADRIAN MUELLER AND SP52948 NCAT File No. SC 20/33352 - 2Feb2022
Date:	Wed, 2 Feb 2022 18:08:32 +1100
From:	SP52948 owner
To:	NCATCCDSydney

Good afternoon,

a) Solicitor Adrian Mueller and SP52948 failed to respond to repeated attempts to deal with alleged costs in NCAT case 20/33352.

The email sent to them on 19 July 2021 has been ignored by them.

b) Another attempt to communicate with SP52948 was on 31 August 2021. No response was received.

c) Third attempt to communicate with SP52948 was on 27 October 2021. No response was received.

d) Solicitor Adrian Mueller and SP52948 have not responded to O'Brien Criminal & Civil Solicitors dated 24 April 2020 (attachment "Lot15824April.pdf"). It is coming close to two years that the request is outstanding.

In addition to those questions, Lot 158 seeks all correspondence from/to Solicitor Adrian Mueller for the last seven years in regards to his effort to threaten us with alleged defamation cases, which never succeeded but caused significant costs. The defence of qualified privilege cannot be successful if it can be proved by the plaintiff that the defamation was motivated by malice, which can easily be proven.

Recent case confirmed it:

Counsel for the state Alan Sefton argued the messages between Mr McGowan and Mr Quigley should not be disclosed under legal privilege, but Justice Michael Lee said their texts were mainly about political strategy.

“It’s not exactly the sort of communication, which one would ordinarily characterise as the provision of legal advice,” he said.

The premier and Mr Quigley subsequently discussed Mr Palmer’s arbitration over a stalled mining project.

“I just don’t think I can reach a level of satisfaction that that communication was made for the dominant purpose of obtaining or providing legal advice,” Justice Lee said.

e) In the meantime, since we have absolute proofs that Solicitor Adrian Mueller lied and prevented CTTT/NCAT/District Court/Police/Office of Legal Services Commissioner in their investigations in cases SCS 12/32675, 12/50460, and SC 20/33352 whilst not legally approved to represent owners corporation, we opened case CAS005901 with Office of Legal Services Commissioner and notified to Fair Trading NSW in reference number 10793260.

Stalking, attempts to intimidate, and harassment of Lot 158 continued (more comprehensive details of attempts to intimidate, threat, stalk, harass, expose to ridicule, and discriminate against Lot 158 (including anonymous death threats in 2012 and 2013) with direct knowledge of strata agencies, Solicitor Adrian Mueller, and committee members (in most cases, they refused CCTV access for Police investigations, or claimed the recordings were overwritten) were provided to NCAT and OLSC.

        This event will have to be thoroughly investigated, in spite of all attempts to ignore it in the past:

        Timeline of events for anonymous death threat in 2013:

• Throughout February 2013, Solicitor Adrian Mueller was actively engaged in preventing access to strata documents, protecting own         interests, exhibiting contempt of court (CTTT) in deliberate exercise with intent to interfere with the administration of justice

• On 24 February 2013 at 19:45 hours, Lot 158 sent email to strata manager Peter Bone with the subject line "ADVANCED NOTICE: Peter Bone will be issued with CTTT summons to produce documents on 25 February 2013"

• Lot 158 submitted summonses on 25 February 2013 to CTTT, with updated version on 27 February 2013 (CTTT requsted the changes to the document)

• Day after notice of issue of summonses to strata manager Peter Bone, there was an anonymous phone call to Lot 158 on 26 February 2013 (male voice) with clear instruction to stop CTTT cases or risk own life, with suggestion to disappear from complex. Less threathening anonymous phone call also occurred in 2012, which we ignored as prank.
  

• Threat "urging" Lot 158 to disappear from complex in an anonymous letterbox notice was reported to Police (and ignored by them) in another Event E45617744 on 6 October 2011

• Evidence that Solicitor Adrian Mueller knew about summonses for strata manager Peter Bone and was actively involved on 26 February 2013 exist in Solicitor's invoices

• Waratah Strata Management and committee members stayed silent about attacks against Lot 158, including discrimination on religious basis (owners of Lot 147 Mr. and Mrs. Levitt called Lot 158 "non-believers" on number of occasions), on 17 May 2017
  

• 12 Police events for stalking, harassment, intimidation, and threats against Lot 158 by few maintenance staff, few committee members, and some tenants in the complex

• 8 request to obtain access to CCTV recordings for stalking, harassment, intimidation, and threats against Lot 158 were silently ignored by Waratah Strata Management, committee members, and maintenance staff (even Police did not get access to them)
  

We offer assistance to bring to justice the Respondent and Solicitor Adrian Mueller for repeated efforts to pervert course of justice, abuse court processes, and cause significant costs.

f) CHU Insurance rejected claim for legal costs of Solicitor Adrian Mueller in first quarter of 2021, which was confirmed in agenda for Annual General Meeting in October 2021.

g) Financial status of SP52948 is having serious problems and owners are not notified about it. Some of previous and very recent issues:

• On 4 July 2012, owners corporation had no funds to pay $14,056.90 which was approved by strata manager Paul Banoob for creditor code 69633, so BCS Strata Management secretly ordered injection of $50,000.00 from an MBL account (several days later, at alleged committee meeting in Lot 181 unit, who was unfinancial at the time, approved engagement of Solicitor Adrian Mueller without owners corporation knowledge - that meeting was later found out to be completely illegal and to this day agenda and minutes of the meeting do not exist in strata files).
  

        On 1 August 2012, strata manager secretly changed the insurance policy for the complex and then made four claims for “legal costs”:

        $367.64 on 31 August 2012
        $12,714.65 on 7 December 2012
        $1,320.00 on 26 April 2013
        $10.517.02 on 4 June 2013

        The claims were for “legal defence of Lot 3” in CTTT case that did not exist in regards to this owner.

        Four years later, in March 2017, CHU Insurance forced owners corporation to repay $8,800.00.

        They should have claimed the full amount, but they did not have all evidence of the case, which we do now.

• On 21 August 2014 Pica Group (parent company of BCS Strata Management) provided secret cash advance to SP52948 in amount of $20,745.50 and issued an invoice month later on 22 September 2014. That information was withheld from owners who had no knowledge of financial problems. SP52948 secretly repaid $20,745.50 six months later on 25 March 2015, without notifying owners corporation. BCS Strata Management failed to include  Lot 158 Motion for secret cash advance from Pica Group at AGM 2016

• SP52948 Balance Status on 17 October 2019, Admin Fund had negative balance of $131,852.25 on the day of general meeting. Trying to prevent owners of Lot 158 to raise questions about finance and maintenance, Waratah Strata Management and committee members "approved" $150,000.00 to be spent on defamation case against Lot 158 (which failed to achieve their goal), without giving owners information that Waratah Strata Management and committee members already engaged Solicitor Adrian Mueller who had prepared 13-page document before the AGM and tried to force Lot 158 into signing preposterous Deed. In financial statements for FY 2020, in spite of extensive legal involvement, Waratah Strata Management logged only $2,940.00 for legal costs

• SP52948 Balance Status on 31 October 2021, Admin Fund had negative balance of $120,210.65 (one day before next collection of levies on 1 November 2021). This negative balance was extremely opposite from what Waratah Strata Management listed just three days earlier, on the day of general meeting on 28 October 2021 without disclosure to owners, Admin Fund has alleged balance of $1,019.14 (three days before next collection of levies on 1 November 2021)

• SP52948 Balance Status on 29 January 2021, Admin Fund negative balance of $18,859.76

• SP52948 Balance Status on 25 April 2021, Admin Fund negative balance of $24,560.03

• SP52948 Balance Status on 31 July 2021, Admin Fund negative balance of $22,323.34

• SP52948 Balance Status on 8 December 2021, Admin Fund holding just $1,263.46 (close to two months before next collection of levies is due on 1 February 2022)

• SP52948 Balance Status on 24 December 2021, Admin Fund has negative balance of $49,429.69 (more than one month before next collection of levies is due on 1 February 2022)

• SP52948 Balance Status on 7 January 2022, Admin Fund has negative balance of $53,036.39 (one month before next collection of levies is due on 1 February 2022)

• SP52948 Balance Status on 19 January 2022, Admin Fund has negative balance of $112,530.07 (11 days before next collection of levies is due on 1 February 2022)

• SP52948 Balance Status on 30 January 2022, Admin Fund has negative balance of $116,068.14 (2 days before next collection of levies is due on 1 February 2022)

• SP52948 Minutes of committee meeting on 23 September 2021 - shortage of $1,515,541.00 in Capital Works Fund against the forecast in April 2017 that was allegedly approved without general meeting. Annual general meeting was held on 28 October 2021, and no owner received email or printed copy of rushed updates to Capital Works Fund which simply delayed all major repairs, effectively made balance looked artificially positive. Agenda for AGM 2021 was dispatched on 7 October 2021 and BIV's updated Capital Works Fund plan was created a day earlier but not presented to owners corporation to approve or vote at general meeting on 28 October 2021.

h) Due to lack of funds, lot of repairs are are delayed, including above mentioned 10-Year Capital Works Fund.

For Lot 158, smoke alarms were suddenly replaced only on 2 October 2021, many years after they had expired and had been deemed faulty in annual fire safety assessments.

At present, repair of water leaks on ceiling near light fitting in Lot 158 is still outstanding, presenting serious fire and OH&S risks.

Attachment "SP52948-extract-from-EC-meeting-ignoring-Lot-158-repeated-complaints-about-fire-safety-and-other-maintenance-29Apr2021.webp" shows extract from committee meeting on 29 April 2021 where Lot 158 concerns about safety are ignored.

Attachment "SP52948-waratahstrata.com.au-website-Maintenance-Open-Work-Orders-page-1-30Jan2022.webp" taken from Waratah website on 30 January 2022 confirms number of outstanding repairs for more than a year (some even several years old).

i) SP52948 was reminded about costs Lot 158 incurred for document searches where BCS STrata Management and as of 2017 Waratah Strata Management failed to provide access to many documents:

16Nov2011 $154.00 Document search at BCS Strata Management

7Nov2012 $132.00 Document search at BCS Strata Management

28Feb2012 $72.00 Document search at CTTT

7Mar2013 $33.00 Document search at BCS Strata Management

11Mar2013 $172.80 Document search at BCS Strata Management

11Sep2013 $45.00 Document search at BCS Strata Management

15Oct2013 $45.00 Document search at BCS Strata Management

18Oct2013 $32.00 Document search at BCS Strata Management

16Feb2016 $164.80 Document search at BCS Strata Management

16Feb2016 $3.40 Document search at BCS Strata Management

15Jun2017 $61.05 Document search at Waratah Strata Management

13Jun2019 $212.85 Document search at Waratah Strata Management

13Jun2019 $2.75 Document search at Waratah Strata Management

26Sep2019 $234.30 Document search at Waratah Strata Management

29Mar2020 $2,200.00 O’Brien Criminal & Civil Solicitors demand for strata files sent to Waratah Strata Management

27Jul2020 Request to committee members

31Jul2021 Request to committee members

21Oct2020 Request to Solicitor Adrian Mueller

19Jul2021 Request to Solicitor Adrian Mueller

27Oct2021 Request to committee members and Waratah Strata Management

Regards,

Lot 158

Good morning Solicitor Mueller,

CC: NCAT

BCC: Five members of the executive committee and two strata managers at Waratah Strata Management

Many thanks for the generous letter and offer to settle alleged costs incurred by you in NCAT case SC 20/33352.

The Applicant, as always, welcomes opportunity to discuss and settle the costs once their validity is established.

The Applicant's three options for costs have been prepared and they will be submitted once some details are clarified.

To avoid any unnecessary expense, the Respondent is requested to provide the following UNREDACTED evidence in electronic form (Covid-19 restrictions justify it):

1. Copy of signed Standard Costs Agreement for engagement in NCAT 20/33352.
2. Copy of email or proof of letter that Solicitor Adrian Mueller received a formal authorization to represent owners corporation in NCAT 20/33352. Legally, it would have to be done straight after the general meeting on 22 October 2020 so that the Respondent prepared their evidence for complying with Directions Hearing orders dated 25 September 2020.
   
3. Copy of AUDITED detailed income and expenditure report for period 1 September 2019 to 31 August 2020. Economos signed the audited accounts on 3 November 2020, 12 days after the Annual General Meeting, in non-compliance with STRATA SCHEMES MANAGEMENT ACT 2015 – SECT 95 and STRATA SCHEMES MANAGEMENT REGULATION 2016 – REG 21).
4. Copy of detailed income and expenditure statement for period 1 September 2020 to 19 July 2021 (today), which include proofs of payments to Solicitor Adrian Mueller.
5. Copies of emails related to SUU insurance claim listed in Solicitor's invoice 103514 dated 6 May 2021 (as per attachment "Solicitor-Adrian-Mueller-extract-from-invoice-103514.webp"). SUU declined to quote insurance renewal in 2012 due to SOlicitor Adrian Mueller's high risks (refer to attachments).
   
6. Copies of emails related to NCAT communications listed in Solicitor's invoice 103514 dated 6 May 2021 (as per attachment "Solicitor-Adrian-Mueller-extract-from-invoice-102134.webp").
   

It is in interest of the Respondent to be prompt and provide requested files (as per attachments and the Respondent's commitment to owners corporation in Minutes of committee meeting on 7 May 2020).

The Applicant is eagerly awaiting your response, which must be shared with NCAT.

Regards,

On 12/7/21 3:13 pm, Adrian Mueller wrote: