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Anna and Beryl


Anna rented the flat below Beryl. Anna often had parties or went out with friends on Friday and Saturday nights. Recently Anna brought a friend home in the early hours of Saturday morning to play music and sing karaoke loudly. Beryl complained about this but the noise continued. Beryl then started writing notes and slipping them under Anna's door.

One night, Beryl went down and knocked on Anna's door to complain. This resulted in a physical fight between Anna and Beryl. The police were called and Beryl and Anna both made applications in the Local Court for Apprehended Personal Violence Orders against each other. When the matter went to court, the magistrate referred Anna and Beryl to mediation.

At mediation, Beryl was able to express how she felt about the noise and Anna realised how her actions had affected Beryl. Anna agreed to make as little noise as possible between 10 pm and 6 am and keep noise levels reasonable at other times. Anna apologised to Beryl and Beryl accepted. Anna was also able to explain that Beryl's notes intimidated her and Beryl agreed to stop writing them. Beryl and Anna also agreed to withdraw their legal proceedings and write to the strata manager if there were any more problems in future.

 

 
 
 
 

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