[Zarlias]

My childhood home is part of a subdivision that consists of several 5ish acre blocks that surround a large dam. The dam is probably about 2 blocks in area, and there are 8 properties that connect to it. All the owners of the residential blocks form a company that is responsible for the maintenance, upkeep and rates of the dam.

In 2001, after many disagreements with other shareholders, my dad resigned from the company and essentially relinquished his share.of the dam. He pulled up the irrigation and pump, and dug his own dam on our block for water. The resident at the time who was caretaker sent him a letter saying they didn't accept his resignation. He basically said he didn't care, and nothing else was ever heard about the subject.

Fast forward to today. My dad has been dead just under two years, and my mum gets a hand delivered letter from a neighbour saying that she owes close to $5000 in unpaid rates dating back to 2001, including 8% interest. The letter says that there is a meeting of the company (eg residents) on Saturday and she is strony urged to attend or nominate a proxy.

My poor mum is so upset, but DH and I will be going in to bat at said meeting. Surely they can't hit her up more than 10 years later after not asking for money, nor communicating anything re the dam during that entire time. My dad was a stickler for records and paperwork, so I am 100% confident that he considered the situation sorted 10 years ago. I believe they are looking at a soft target and hoping to wring some money out before we sell up. So much for neighbourly love.

I am so cross. We have lived there for over 30 years.

Does this sound dodgy or OS it legit? Also, do we need a lawyer and if so, what sort?

TIA

[MrsLexiK]

I am sorry your mum is going through this stressful time. I think the fact they sent a letter in 2001 might be on their side, but not 100% sure. Your dad perhaps should have looked into resigning officially. Now you would need to look at original deeds and stuff to know if the shareholder of the dam passed onto the owner of the property or if the share died when your father died to know whether it is for the last 8 years or the last 10 years.

I would look at a lawyer, I would be thinking contract law or property law would be your best bet.

[Fairey]

I would be consulting a lawyer.
The fact that they didn't acept his resignation may be in their favour - but I honestly have no idea

Good luck with this though - my thoughts are with your mum.

[AllyK81]

OP, it's hard to comment without seeing the paperwork, but if your Dad legitimately resigned from the Company (I.e. is no longer a shareholder or Director), then his liability should should have dissolved at that time. You can do a company search through ASIC to check if he is still formally listed.

This would be subject to any particular agreements or contracts in place.

You should definitely seek some advice, though.

[Sassy Girl]

It does sound dodgy though you should probably ring Legal Aid and ask their advice.

We had similar happen to us when we bought our shop. The original owner had items that he sold on consignment about 10 years before we bought the shop. He stopped doing it 5 years before we bought the shop. The company heard the shop had new owners and tried the 'you still have some of our products scam' (supposedly many companies do it when businesses change hands). They said we owned them a few thousand dollars. After many phone calls and my husband pointing out they didn't have our business registration number on any contracts they backed down.

People do this sort of thing when they think they can make money out of a 'soft' target

[Zarlias]

AllyK81 - what would constituent a 'legitimate' resignation? We still have an original copy of the letter that he sent, so I know it was done in writing.

Surely there must be some onus on them to have attempted to collect monies each year, and if Dad were still a shareholder, he should have received notice of meetings etc. Prior to him pulling the pin, meetings were held annually. Mostly he was the only attendee.

Grr

[fairyflossfart]

OP, it's hard to comment without seeing the paperwork, but if your Dad legitimately resigned from the Company (I.e. is no longer a shareholder or Director), then his liability should should have dissolved at that time. You can do a company search through ASIC to check if he is still formally listed.

This would be subject to any particular agreements or contracts in place.

You should definitely seek some advice, though.

I agree with the PP. If he was a shareholder in the company and he has not received any monies from it but the others have, you could also lodge a claim.

I hope it is solved pretty quickly and without too much hassle for your mother.

[JECJEC]

dp

This post has been edited by JECJEC: 19/02/2013, 04:47 PM

[JECJEC]

check

statute of limitations

and

how the estate was managed. they usually put a notice in the paper and have a limit on time there

I would speak to a lawyer.

[Zarlias]

At this stage, my plan is to go to their meeting and ask why no attempts were made earlier to collect this money, and why, if Dad was still a shareholder, he wasn't kept informed of the goings on. If they don't have satisfactory answers, we'll be telling them we're seeking legal advice.

I won't be letting them bully 5k from my mum. Sneaky bastards didn't even have the balls to knock on her door and talk to her face, just snuck the letter in the mail box.