Paul Horvath Solicitor
5th Floor, 221 Queen Street
Melbourne Vic 3000
Phone: 03 9642 0435
Email: admin@phsolicitor.com.au
March 2010
Taylor avoids AFL sanction from Richmond
Richmond first-year AFL forward Troy Taylor will argue he was acting in self-defence when he contests assault charges. The 18-year-old pleaded not guilty to five charges in the Alice Springs Magistrates Court on Tuesday - three of assault, one of criminal damage and one of lighting firecrackers. Paul Horvath represented Taylor, who was also accompanied to court by a Tigers' player development manager. Full Story The Age.
February 2010
Penny Lording admitted as a Solicitor on Tuesday the 16th February 2010.
September 2009
Paul Horvath, along with Michael Tovey QC, represented Mr Max Giordano in his Country Court plea. Mr Giordano pleaded guilty to several counts of obtaining property by deception and creating false invoices. Mr Giordano and his co-defendants stole approximately $1.5 million from the Whittlesea Council. Full restitution was made.
September 2009
On 8th September 2009 Mr Rob Hulls, Deputy Premier and Minister for Racing, announced the appointment of Paul Horvath to the Board of Harness Racing Victoria. He has been appointed for a period of three years. Harness Racing Victoria is a statutory body with the responsibility for the regulation, management and promotion of harness racing in Victoria. The Media Release can be found at http://www.premier.vic.gov.au/minister-for-racing/
June 2009
Paul Horvath represented a medical practitioner in his defamation matter. A television network took footage of the doctor for a Men's Health Week story a few years ago. The footage was used this year without consent for a story about Doctors who are guilty of Medicare fraud. The matter was successfully settled.
May 2009
Recent work in the firm has included:
April 2009
Paul Horvath represented a person who had been a member of the Navy for 10 years and just prior to leaving the full time Navy was caught with a blood alcohol reading. The Navy decided that he was not suitable for either re-entry into the Permanent Navy or entry into the Reserves, and consequently the decision to approve his transfer to the reserves was recinded. Our client successfully challenged the decision of the Navy by lodging a complaint to the Commonwealth Ombudsman on grounds that included: the penalty was dispropotionate to the level of offending (reading only marginally over limit); the penalty was unfair (in comparision of similiar incidents); and that there had been breaches of procedural fairness.
September 2008
We are pleased to announce the strengthening of the team at SportsLawyer. Penny Lording is a final year law student at the University of Melbourne. She currently works part time at the firm, SportsLawyer, and will commence full time in November, 2008. Penny has strong sporting interests, including water polo and netball, and has written a number of papers, including one on the illicit drugs in sport issue.
July 2008
Paul Horvath successfully completed his Masters of Laws (LLM) with the majority of studies in the area of sports law.
April 2008
Paul Horvath represented Kane Johnson when he appeared in court on charges of behaving in an offensive manner and being drunk in a public place. The court ordered Johnson to perform eight hours of community work.
December 2007
Paul Horvath's efforts in travelling to Switzerland to appeal the life time ban on the Ukranian swim coach Mikhaylo Zubkov were rewarded. The Court of Arbitration which heard the appeal against the decision from March 007 in Melbourne was handed down on the 21st December 2007. Amongst other findings, it was found that Mr Zubkov did not strike his daughter, that he did not bring the sport of swimming into disrepute, and that his conduct warranted an eight month suspension rather than the original lifetime ban. For the full decision and media releases, go to sportslawyer.com.au.
April 2007
Paul Horvath defended Ian Thorpe against allegations of performance enhancing drug use in comments made in The Sunday Herald Sun. He explained that there were a number of legitimate explanations for a sample that may appear to contain a banned substance, and that if Ian Thorpe's sample contained such a substance, it was almost certain that there was an innocent explanation.
March 2007
Paul Horvath represented two team officials at the 2007 World Swimming Championships held in Melbourne. Russian senior diving coach, Vladimir Rulev was charged with unlawful assault and indecent assault and appeared before the Melbourne Magistrates' Court.
In footage which was seen around the world, Mikhaylo Zubkov was seen involved pool side at the Championships in a squabble with his daughter, Kateryna, a competing swimmer. First, Mikhaylo Zubkov had to face Melbourne Magistrates' Court in relation to an intervention order in which the police sought to prevent him from seeing his daughter. The intervention order was not granted.
At 6.30pm on 28th March, Mr Mikhaylo Zubkov was advised that he was required to answer disciplinary charges at 10.30pm that night before a FINA disciplinary panel to be convened at the Crown Casino. Paul Horvath arranged for a top legal team including Tony Nolan SC, Will Alstergren and two instructing solicitors to defend his rights.
October 2006
Client Scott McLaughlin succeeded in his appeal before the Australian Karting Appeal Court (Go Kart Racing). Paul Horvath Solicitor provided the legal advice and support necessary for Scott to have his suspensions (14 months was sought) overturned. The Court confirmed the original decision of the Victorian Karting Association Disciplinary Tribunal that there be no suspension.
September 2006
Paul Horvath was re-appointed as legal advisor to the Richmond Football Club on AFL Tribunal matters, together with Michael Tovey, QC.
August 2006
Paul Horvath was appointed by the Melbourne 2007 World Swimming Championships Corporation as solicitor for athletes and officials. The World Swimming Championships run from 17th March to 1st April, 2007. The scheme covers sports disputes (e.g. anti-doping breaches) as well as police matters.
July 2006
Paul Horvath's article on the World Anti Doping Code and the AFL was accepted for publication by the Monash University Law Review. It will be published in the second 2006 edition of that Review which will be launched in late February, 2006. A draft of the article can be viewed on the Sports Law page of this website.
March 2006
Paul Horvath was Commonwealth Games Solicitor at Melbourne 2006 for athletes and officials (pro bono). In that capacity he was involved in Court of Arbitration for Sport Matters, and represented an Indian athlete and a Bangladeshi athlete charged with criminal offences alleged to have occurred in the athletes village.
February 2006
In the lead-up to the Commonwealth Games, Paul Horvath represented two Tasmanian weightlifters charged with anti-doping offences before the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
December 2005
Paul Horvath represented a Victorian prison officer charged with the murder of a prisoner who was shot escaping from St Vincent’s hospital. After an eight day trial, the Judge ruled that there was no case to answer, and the jury were directed to find the officer not guilty. The officer was granted bail at all stages of the proceedings. At the earlier Magistrates Court committal hearing which concluded in November, 2003, the Magistrate also threw the charge out, finding that there was insufficient evidence to support a conviction.