Help Us Defend Our Family and Our Right to Speak the Truth
Donation protected
Hello, we’re Laura and Jarrod, parents to two beautiful young girls and a hardworking family from Melbourne. We never imagined we’d be here sharing our story publicly and asking for help, but we are in the middle of an overwhelming legal battle, and we need your support to stand up against an injustice that’s threatening everything we’ve worked so hard for.
What Happened
Twelve months ago, we hired a rubbish removal company to clear decaying retaining walls from our property. After querying a $514 invoice and asking for clarification, things quickly took a shocking turn. Within 48 hours, more than 26 mattresses were dumped across our driveway, blocking access to our home and leaving us stunned. We hadn’t refused to pay the invoice; we just queried it and wanted to come to a resolution with the business due to confusing quotations.
We shared our story on social media, asking for help and advice.
Our story went viral, and several news outlets covered what had happened (links below). Since then, we’ve received numerous different legal threats from numerous persons and companies associated with the business, and have actually been sued in three separate lawsuits in different jurisdictions: one in the Supreme Court of Victoria, another in the District Court of Queensland by a franchisee of the company, and a third in VCAT.
The claims made in Queensland were particularly absurd. They were akin to a franchised pizza business in Queensland suing someone in Victoria for leaving a bad review about pizza from a Victorian store; and doing it separately in Queensland, when the Victorian business was already suing us there!.
In the videos and posts, we shared our lived experience. When threatened with legal proceedings we immediately took the social media posts down. However, that wasn’t enough to appease the business and we now have no choice but to defend ourselves.
Due to the ongoing nature of the litigation, we have chosen not to name that business. We ask our supporters not to do so either, at least until after the legal proceedings have been concluded to avoid them raising even more allegations against us.
The Legal and Emotional Toll
The last year has drained our resources and nearly broken our spirits.
We are just an ordinary family. Jarrod works in warehousing and Laura works in the social services not-for-profit sector.
Since the lawsuits began, we’ve had to defend ourselves in multiple courts and tribunals and have already spent close to $200,000 in legal fees, clearing out our life savings, using our annual leave, and borrowing heavily from our elderly relatives just to stay afloat.
To make matters worse:
- the Queensland entity pursued legal action despite being warned their claims were hopeless and, regardless of their merits, brought in the wrong jurisdiction and a place that was not the appropriate forum;
- the Victorian business, and persons associated with it, were warned of various issues with their claims and pursued them anyway, refusing to make sensible concessions. When they were eventually forced to concede their initial claims could not be maintained, they changed the entity bringing the claim and made various different claims for different loss and damage. They then refused to pay us any of our wasted legal costs.
Thankfully, to date, the judges in both Queensland and Victoria that have heard our applications have agreed with our lawyers’ arguments.
The Queensland proceedings were stayed and can now only be brought in Victoria; and the claims brought in the Supreme Court of Victoria were struck out, but with a right to reformulate them and bring them in the name of another entity. However, we have spent hundreds of thousands just to get to this point, both Victorian proceedings continue, and the Queensland claims could resurface.
The other side is obliged to pay us some of our wasted costs. However, they are refusing to pay any of those costs now, and are disputing the amounts. This has dragged out for six months already and could drag on for much longer yet.
Our legal team estimates that continuing this fight through to trial could be hundreds of thousands of dollars more.
We are now facing the heartbreaking prospect of selling our already mortgaged home simply to defend ourselves and repay the family members who have sacrificed so much to support us. Our elderly parents should be enjoying their retirement, not fretting about our families’ future.
The emotional strain on our family has been immense.
Why We’re Asking for Help
This isn’t just about us, it’s about anyone who has ever tried to speak up before. No one should have to defend themselves in three courts across two states for telling the truth.
We are confident that the truth will prevail IF we can properly defend ourselves. However, we cannot properly defend ourselves in this kind of litigation without specialised legal representation.
Our solicitor has already sworn evidence saying that they and our barrister have done their best to minimise legal costs and have already discounted (and intend to continue to discount) their fees to assist us. However, because of the way the other side are conducting the litigation, we will not be able to properly defend the proceedings without paying hundreds of thousands more in legal fees.
Your donation will go directly towards:
- Covering ongoing legal fees so we can defend ourselves (which we have no choice but to do)
- Repaying our relatives, who have helped us survive this far
- Saving us from selling our family home
- Any surplus funds at the end of the legal proceedings will be donated to Save the Children Australia
How You Can Make a Difference
Every donation, big or small, truly makes a difference. If you're not able to give yourself, please consider sharing our story with your friends, family, or community to help us reach someone who can.
We’ve included links to media coverage below and have shared photos and videos on our campaign page.
https://www.news.com.au/national/victoria/courts-law/more-than-25-mattresses-left-on-driveway-by-business-after-a-customer-refused-to-pay-a-bill/news-story/4ab2af81adda0f93c677ded57a98ff01
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/money/article-13578701/laura-jarrod-maultby-melbourne-dispute-mattresses-Junk-com-au-richard-furnari.html
https://au.news.yahoo.com/bitter-feud-erupts-after-26-mattresses-were-dumped-on-aussie-couples-driveway-021134313.html
Thank you for reading, for caring, and for helping us stand up for what’s right. Your support is giving our family hope during the hardest time of our lives.
With heartfelt gratitude,
Laura, Jarrod, and our girls
** Due to the ongoing nature of these legal proceedings, we have not commented on the underlying allegations, nor are we commenting on the specifics of the case beyond what is already public or in public court documents. We strongly discourage any harassment or targeting of the individuals or entities involved. This is about standing up for our family, not attacking people.**
Co-organisers (2)
Jarrod Maultby
Organiser
Langwarrin, VIC
Laura Maultby
Co-organiser