#SVVoidables by Matthew Hudson
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Breaking: the appeal to the Full Federal Court by the Administrators of Mossgreen in relation to their right to be paid for dealing with consigned goods has been dismissed. Around $1 million in fees and costs (possibly) down the drain! In summary, the Full Federal Court has confirmed that the Administrators did not enjoy an equitable…
Illegal phoenix activity is said to defraud the ATO by approximately $600 million per year and much more to the wider economy. Yesterday, ASIC and the Department of Jobs released to the public a new memorandum of understanding (“MOU”) entered into, for the purpose of combatting such illegal activity. The MOU is meant to assist…
“My business is not insolvent,” remarked Jess. “My husband or I could put in our own money should the business need it.” But is that correct? When can you rely upon such funds to stave off insolvency? Many people that come to see me make similar remarks as Jess. They say they could have just sold their…
Breaking: Set-off (in 553C) applies to unfair preferences, according to Justice Markovic in the Federal Court proceedings handed down today. Her Honour was minded to just follow the Re Parker case and the Smith v Bone case, which allowed set-off. Her Honour did remark that the Liquidator’s submissions did not deal substantially with this issue, because, as was found…
Whether a company is solvent or not is not determined by assets being greater than liabilities or even a string of profits. What is required is to look at whether the company can pay those liabilities within a reasonable time, from all of its available (and accessible) assets. But could a company be solvent, even where currently…
An Administrator undertaking a full stocktake of consigned property in an auction house does not have an equitable lien – that’s according to a Federal Court judgment handed down yesterday. The consigned property did not belong to the company, meaning that the VA’s had to deal with around 4,000 consigned lots and the risk of not being…
No Qld Government, a Bankrupt’s disclaimed land does not automatically revert (“escheat”) to you, according to a Federal Court case handed down on 19 March. The Bankruptcy Trustee in question had disclaimed real property (per s133 Bankruptcy Act). Meaning the Bankrupt lost legal title to the land. The real property was the subject of a…
Façade Treatment v Brookfield Multiflex [2016] VSCA is “plainly wrong” and “should not be followed” according to Justice Stevenson in His Honour’s single-court judgment handed down yesterday. The Façade case had held that the Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act (“BCISPA”) does not continue to apply once the subcontractor enters Liquidation. Yesterday’s case, called Seymour…
The more we utilise the skills of accredited mediators and commercially-minded lawyers, the better returns will be for those most in need. This was the frank reminder from Rares J in the Federal Court yesterday for parties to litigation to take a realistic, commercial and principled approach to resolving disputes as early as possible. Not…
Should Receivers charge a margin on top of their consultants time when conducting Receiverships? The Federal Court has today said no; even labelling it “an error of judgment or oversight”. The case involved a very difficult and complex Receivership, spanning 30+ months and $hundreds of millions in assets. The consultant in question had been engaged for the some 3,154 hours…
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