Rotstein and Associates Pty Ltd v Slaveski

In *Rotstein and Associates Pty Ltd v Slaveski*, the County Court of Victoria considered a dispute between a company providing accounting services and its former client. The company sought to recover outstanding fees for services rendered, while the client counterclaimed for damages arising from alleged negligence in the provision of those services.

The central legal issues before the court were whether the accounting company had breached its duty of care to the client, and if so, whether that breach caused the client to suffer loss. The court was required to assess the standard of care expected of a reasonably competent accountant and determine if the services provided by Rotstein and Associates Pty Ltd met that standard. Furthermore, the court had to consider the causal link between any proven negligence and the damages claimed by Mr Slaveski.

Judge Riethmuller found that while the accounting company had provided some services, it had not acted negligently in its professional capacity. The court determined that the services provided were within the scope of what was reasonably expected of an accountant in the circumstances, and that the client had not established that the company's actions or omissions fell below the required professional standard. Consequently, the counterclaim for damages was dismissed. The court ordered that the company was entitled to recover the outstanding fees for the services it had rendered.