Hi,
I am new here, so please have some patience with me if I am in the wrong forum.
I feel this needs some backstory first.
I am Norwegian, living in Norway at the moment, my wife is Australian and lives in Sydney Australia.
In november 2018 we had a slight falling out because of my reluctance to just sell of everything and move to Sydney without a job lined up, so she went dark, and blocked viber and whatsapp that we use to communicate, and also blocked my number on her phone so when I called her it would go straight to the answering service.
She has done this to me before when we have had disagrements over the phone, even in person, she will just walk off and want to be alone for a while.
Now... she had just started a new job (8 months in) and her boss were thoroughly impressed by her work and her work ethic, so when she blocked me, she had accidentaly blocked all incomming calls on her phone, so when her boss tried to reach her he got sent directly to the answering service.
I could se on Viber and whatsapp that she was "last online 5 minutes ago" and that she had seen my messages, so I wasn't worried for her safety or sanity.
Now her boss called her friend who was listed as her emergency contact and asked if she had heard from her, she hadn't. My boss only had her old address, and her friend didn't know the new address even though my wife had lived there for 6 months.
I was on a ship sailing in and out of cellphone coverage, and I got a message from her emergency contact friend asking is I had heard from my wife, I replied that I had the day before, but that I was on a ship sailing along the coast of Norway and that my mobile data connection was crap.
No reply.
a while later I got a message from another of my wifes friends asking for her address,
So I replied with the address and asked why?
No reply.
Then the next day I get a call from my wife saying that her friends and boss had been so worried about her that her boss/friends had called the EMT to check up on her, (long story mostly told above).
When the EMT arrived they couldn't do anything, and they were still waiting for the real estate agent to arrive with the keys, and when they heard her dog barking her head of inside (as she does whenever anyone moves in the hallway), they called the police.
The police arrived, and from what I have read of NSW law, the EMT or police can break down doors to gain access if there is suspicion of crimes or a person in distress on the other side of the door.
Obviously her boss and friends were distrressed and conserned for my wifes safety (bless their souls), and that was conveyed to the EMT and Police who arrived on site.
So the Police bashed down the door, and gained access (probably smacking the door in the face of the poor dog that was standing at the door barking in the process, poor dog).
My wife arrived home maybe 5-10 minutes after the door had been smashed, she pulled in and was wondering what all the policecars and EMT cars were doing there, drove up and parked in her assigned spot, took the elevator down to her floor and came into a hallway filled by EMT's and police, and her apartment door smashed in.
*******************************************
Summary:
-Obviously, the EMT and Police are not liable for any damages done, as long as they are lead to believe there might be a person in distress inside.
-The tenant was not in the apartment when the door was broken down.
-Now, obviously my wife, as the tenant, made others have conserns for her by shutting off her phone.
-in the situation leading up to this, I as her husband was not contacted by police or EMT (which I can understand, as I am in Norway and not listed as an emergency contact because of the time difference, I had higher hopes for her friends, but in their messages to me they in no way indicate that there was any distress)
I could have explained previous behaviour, and her online activity, or even guided them to her parking space to see if her car was there before they broke down the door (her parking space is one level above her apartment level).
********************************************
Question:
The real estate is now claiming my wife for the cost of the damaged door.
The realestate claimed her for damages, My wife replied that she wants to investigate her liabilities before she pays.
the real estate replies back that unless she pays for the damages/replacement of the door they will take her to tribunal, My wife has written back that she is not refusing to pay, but that she is seeking legal advice on her liability in the matter, and that she is given due time to seek advice.
In my mind, the real estate should have insuranse for something like this, and in worst case my wife should have to pay the premium.
The way I see it, she is not liable at all, sure, she caused the situation that lead to the door being broken down, but neither the police nor EMT figured to check if her car was even there before the door was broken down.
What do you law guys think?
I am new here, so please have some patience with me if I am in the wrong forum.
I feel this needs some backstory first.
I am Norwegian, living in Norway at the moment, my wife is Australian and lives in Sydney Australia.
In november 2018 we had a slight falling out because of my reluctance to just sell of everything and move to Sydney without a job lined up, so she went dark, and blocked viber and whatsapp that we use to communicate, and also blocked my number on her phone so when I called her it would go straight to the answering service.
She has done this to me before when we have had disagrements over the phone, even in person, she will just walk off and want to be alone for a while.
Now... she had just started a new job (8 months in) and her boss were thoroughly impressed by her work and her work ethic, so when she blocked me, she had accidentaly blocked all incomming calls on her phone, so when her boss tried to reach her he got sent directly to the answering service.
I could se on Viber and whatsapp that she was "last online 5 minutes ago" and that she had seen my messages, so I wasn't worried for her safety or sanity.
Now her boss called her friend who was listed as her emergency contact and asked if she had heard from her, she hadn't. My boss only had her old address, and her friend didn't know the new address even though my wife had lived there for 6 months.
I was on a ship sailing in and out of cellphone coverage, and I got a message from her emergency contact friend asking is I had heard from my wife, I replied that I had the day before, but that I was on a ship sailing along the coast of Norway and that my mobile data connection was crap.
No reply.
a while later I got a message from another of my wifes friends asking for her address,
So I replied with the address and asked why?
No reply.
Then the next day I get a call from my wife saying that her friends and boss had been so worried about her that her boss/friends had called the EMT to check up on her, (long story mostly told above).
When the EMT arrived they couldn't do anything, and they were still waiting for the real estate agent to arrive with the keys, and when they heard her dog barking her head of inside (as she does whenever anyone moves in the hallway), they called the police.
The police arrived, and from what I have read of NSW law, the EMT or police can break down doors to gain access if there is suspicion of crimes or a person in distress on the other side of the door.
Obviously her boss and friends were distrressed and conserned for my wifes safety (bless their souls), and that was conveyed to the EMT and Police who arrived on site.
So the Police bashed down the door, and gained access (probably smacking the door in the face of the poor dog that was standing at the door barking in the process, poor dog).
My wife arrived home maybe 5-10 minutes after the door had been smashed, she pulled in and was wondering what all the policecars and EMT cars were doing there, drove up and parked in her assigned spot, took the elevator down to her floor and came into a hallway filled by EMT's and police, and her apartment door smashed in.
*******************************************
Summary:
-Obviously, the EMT and Police are not liable for any damages done, as long as they are lead to believe there might be a person in distress inside.
-The tenant was not in the apartment when the door was broken down.
-Now, obviously my wife, as the tenant, made others have conserns for her by shutting off her phone.
-in the situation leading up to this, I as her husband was not contacted by police or EMT (which I can understand, as I am in Norway and not listed as an emergency contact because of the time difference, I had higher hopes for her friends, but in their messages to me they in no way indicate that there was any distress)
I could have explained previous behaviour, and her online activity, or even guided them to her parking space to see if her car was there before they broke down the door (her parking space is one level above her apartment level).
********************************************
Question:
The real estate is now claiming my wife for the cost of the damaged door.
The realestate claimed her for damages, My wife replied that she wants to investigate her liabilities before she pays.
the real estate replies back that unless she pays for the damages/replacement of the door they will take her to tribunal, My wife has written back that she is not refusing to pay, but that she is seeking legal advice on her liability in the matter, and that she is given due time to seek advice.
In my mind, the real estate should have insuranse for something like this, and in worst case my wife should have to pay the premium.
The way I see it, she is not liable at all, sure, she caused the situation that lead to the door being broken down, but neither the police nor EMT figured to check if her car was even there before the door was broken down.
What do you law guys think?
