It didn’t require a psychic to foretell that BBY’s diverse bunch of creditors might at some point tire of the court-imposed regime for assessing the liquidators’ mounting fees and look to summon forth their own mechanism of restraint. A sign of that came on Monday in the NSW Supreme Court when legal representatives for the liquidators and BBY’s various classes of former clients and creditors –…
Anthony Elkerton and Ron Dean-Willcocks have had to source litigation funding from members of the troubled South Head & District Synagogue (Sydney) as they grapple with the prickly issue of how to deal with the Synagogue’s Rabbi, whose employment they failed to terminate after being appointed administrators on April 26, 2017. In Elkerton, in the matter of South Head & District Synagogue (Sydney) (In Liq) [2017] FCA 1206 Justice…
He might be facing untested allegations that could see him lose his liquidator’s registration but a judge has ruled that David Hurst can accept an appointment that will likely lead to PwC’s David Merryweather and Greg Hall appearing in the witness box for public examination. In James, in the matter of Liquor National Pty Ltd (in liq) v Liquor National Pty Ltd (in liq) (No 2) [2017] FCA 1154 (29…
In the past six months liquidator Jamieson Louttit has been involved in an untidy scrap with coffee bean counter extraordinaire Les Schirato. That dispute is set to come to a head this morning when Louttit’s lawyers attempt to prevent an order being made against their client for indemnity costs. Based on the comments of Justice Ashley Black In the matter of S.C.W. Pty Ltd [2017] NSWSC…
If you thought that the liquidation of the Octaviar group is cursed given the the welter of dispute and litigation that has dogged this administration since the original liquidators were replaced back in 2009, then you are of course forgiven. Nor would you be admonished if you expressed no surprise whatsoever on learning that the incumbent liquidators are currently locked deep in a dispute with…
Whilst it might seem difficult to envisage how the appearance of independence can be maintained by insolvency practitioners acting as both surgeon and undertaker, Justice Paul McKerracher illuminates the way to envisagement. In Australian Securities and Investments Commission v Diploma Group Limited (No 5) [2017] FCA 1147 his honour last week granted leave to David Hodgson and Andrew Hewitt to enable the Grant Thornton partners to appoint themselves as administrators of…
A report about two elderly Australians losing their house after spending more than $100,000 on advice from a company accused of operating a multi-million dollar tax evasion scheme highlights the risks inherent in the practice of referral. Queensland fruit and vegetable peddlers Tony and Doris Di Blasio operated the Crisp on Creek fruit and veg business in Mount Gravatt in Queensland but ran into trouble meeting…
It’s not every insolvency practitioner who’s accused of connivance in a conspiracy so grand that the federal executive lies at its heart but for John Park, it’s not just fake news, it’s not even new. Where do I start,?” Park said yesterday when SiN rang to discuss the latest incendiary affidavit authored by former member of parliament and owner of the Yabulu Nickel Refinery, Clive Palmer. “Every…
It seems the settlement that Octaviar’s liquidators extracted from KPMG in 2016 – with the help of a litigation funder – hasn’t quelled this tortured liquidation’s capacity to infect parties involved with discontent, rancour and litigious intent whilst simultaneously delivering millions in fees to the appointees and their advisers. KPMG settled a class action with unit holders in Octaviar’s Premium Income Fund (PIM) in 2015 and the…
The demolition of the liquidator’s exit plan could not have been more sweeping or complete. In 500 plus paragraphs delivered on Monday, Justice Greg Parker of the Supreme Court of South Australia dismissed every argument of Adelaide liquidator Nick Orfanos in a battle commenced a decade ago. Orfanos, accountant Michael Michaels and Willem (Bill) Ouwens, who as well as being an accountant is the Honorary Consul for the…