Peters and Peters Lawyers and B Investments Pty Ltd and Anor

The Family Court of Australia heard an application by Peters & Peters Lawyers against B Investments Pty Limited and Mr Jensen. The dispute concerned outstanding legal fees allegedly owed to the applicant for work performed in primary proceedings that had since settled. The applicant asserted that the respondents had entered into a costs agreement with the applicant and a company, C Pty Ltd, for services rendered in relation to the primary litigation.

The central legal issue before the Court was whether the applicant's claims for outstanding legal fees against the respondents were statute-barred. The applicant contended that a part payment made by the liquidator of C Pty Ltd, after the limitation period had expired, operated to revive the cause of action against the respondents. This was despite no direct payment or written acknowledgement being made by the respondents themselves.

Justice Fowler considered section 54 of the *Limitation Act 1969* (NSW), which outlines the circumstances under which a cause of action can be confirmed, thereby extending the limitation period. The Court found that a payment made by a liquidator of a third party, C Pty Ltd, did not constitute an acknowledgement or confirmation of the cause of action binding on the respondents, as they were not parties to that payment. The Court held that the limitation period for the applicant's claims ran from the date of the last invoice, 22 June 2006, and that the proceedings, commenced on 4 September 2012, were therefore out of time. The applicant's decision to delay proceedings against the respondents while pursuing recovery from the company in liquidation did not provide a basis to extend the limitation period against them.

Consequently, the Court found that the claims of Peters & Peters Lawyers against B Investments Pty Limited and Mr Jensen were statute-barred and dismissed the application.