Silence over legal costs

LISMORE City Council has been ordered to pay a third of the legal costs incurred by invalid pensioner Christine Anderson.

LISMORE City Council has been ordered to pay a third of the legal costs incurred by invalid pensioner Christine Anderson after the Supreme Court ruled the auction of her South Lismore home for unpaid rates in May was “void”.

As first reported by The Northern Star yesterday, Justice Brereton ruled late Friday that Ms Anderson had been denied natural justice when the council auctioned her home of 20 years for $175,000 – the lowest price for a house in South Lismore for more than a year - to recoup $16,000 in unpaid rates and interest.

Lismore council yesterday said it would “act in accordance” with the court's ruling but declined to make further comment until it had read Justice Brereton's written reasons for his decision.

“The council will release a statement as soon as we are able to do so,” a spokesperson said.

The council also refused to answer specific questions relating to compensation and the cost of defending its decision to sell Ms Anderson's home.

It is understood the council, Ms Anderson, who was funded by Legal Aid, and the Queensland investor who bought the home were all represented by barristers during the two-day hearing last week.

Government departments usually employ senior barristers at $4000 a day, pushing the council's legal bill more than $10,000 once the cost of instructing solicitors is included.

Justice Brereton's written orders make no mention of compensation for the purchaser, who was told the house was unoccupied, or Ms Anderson, whose health had deteriorated because of stress since the home was sold.

Bridget Barker, of the Northern Rivers Community Legal Centre, who took on the case after The Star published a number of articles on the circumstances of the sale, has not returned calls since Friday's ruling.

However, she told ABC radio the decision was based on the grounds of procedural fairness and natural justice.

As reported by The Star, the council changed its policy in October to allow the sale of homes owned by pensioners to recoup unpaid rates.

“When council took a decision to depart from that policy, the decision of Justice Brereton is that they should have afforded Ms Anderson the opportunity to make submissions to them as to why she should not be included,” Ms Barker said.

Originally published as Silence over legal costs