Emma Swords

Emma has over 13 years of experience working in litigation and dispute resolution, and specialises in the areas of strata disputes and building and construction.

Through working in boutique and mid-tier firms, Emma has experience acting for a diverse range of clients including builders, developers, sub-contractors, owners corporations, community and neighbourhood associations, building management committees, high net worth individuals and Councils.

Emma handles contentious matters, including dealing with NCAT and Supreme Court proceedings in the areas of claims for repairs to property and associated loss and damages, commercial claims for breach of contract, claims relating to by-laws including interpretation, enforcement, and unreasonable refusals, applications for compulsory appointment of managers, and disputes relating to management and service agreements.

 

Qualifications/Memberships

• Bachelor of Laws (Hons) (Macquarie University)

• Bachelor of Psychology (Macquarie University)

• Law Society of New South Wales

 

A word from Emma

Strata disputes and building issues often involve competing interests and heightened emotions, and I aim to provide a steady, objective presence that clients can rely on. I am committed to understanding each client’s unique objectives so I can deliver advice that is both commercially aligned and practically effective. I value the trust my clients place in me and am committed to achieving practical, commercially sound outcomes that support their long-term goals.

 

Career highlights

• Defending an owners corporation in a claim for $3million in loss and damages flowing from a failure of the common property where the novel question of whether the existence of contained asbestos constitutes a failure of the common property was in dispute

• Defending lot owners in an application relating to an alleged unreasonable by-law refusal and an application for orders reallocating unit entitlements of the strata scheme  

• Acting for a lot owner in a claim brought for loss and damages flowing from a failure of the common property in a strata scheme

• Resolving disputes relating to the terms of proposed by-laws to the satisfaction of the parties and avoiding proceedings for an unreasonable refusal

• Defending an action commenced in the Supreme Court of NSW against owners relating to a tenancy eviction

• Defending owners corporations in numerous proceedings seeking orders for the appointment of a compulsory managing agent

• Successfully obtaining orders for costs in NCAT on two separate occasions in circumstances where the applicants withdrew the proceedings prior to the substantive hearing

• Representing a managing agency wrongly sued in personal injury proceedings and successfully extracting the agency from the dispute

 

Specific areas of focus

• Strata disputes

• General building and construction disputes

• Commercial contract disputes

• Property disputes

• Building defect claims