After considering the recent findings of Circuit Court judge Brana Obradovic, iNO was moved this week to contemplate on traits of character, in particular those essential for anyone working with a difficult bankrupt. “The application was listed for hearing on 2 May 2023. Ms Adorni arrived late to that hearing and gave a narration of her past financial woes and hopes for the future, as…
Hamilton Murphy partner Stephen Dixon. Steve Dixon must be considering his options after a judge of the Supreme Court of Victoria refused the Hamilton Murphy partner’s application for orders declaring a mortgage invalid. In Dixon (as trustee of the bankrupt estate of Toufic Sassine) v Lennon & Anor [2023] VSC 426 Associate Justice Matthew Barrett concluded – having spent eight months deliberating – that he…
dVT Group co-founder Riad Tayeh It’s never helpful when a government official casts aspersions upon insolvency practitioners two days out from a first meeting of creditors of a controversy-plagued firm whose founder has fled the jurisdiction. That however is the scenario facing dVT Group’s Suelen McCallum and Antony Resnick as they prepare for the first meeting of creditors of controversial construction firm Toplace Pty Ltd…
Trustee in Bankruptcy Andrew Aravanis. Trustee in Bankruptcy Alexander Clark. The most likely outcome flowing from this week’s court ruling in the bitter fight between the trustees of bankrupt ex-Corr’s partner Phil Kapp and his wife Maryann is likely to be an appeal. “Although the bankruptcy trustees have had some success they have failed on most of their claims. Federal Court Judge Nye Perram. On…
Oracle Insolvency Services’s Nick Cooper. It seems there’s nothing like putting the frighteners on a recalcitrant debtor to ensure compliance with an existing repayment agreement and pleasingly, the Federal Circuit Court endorses such intimidation when the motives are pure and in line with the Act. “While, of course, from time to time, remarks have been made by Courts exercising jurisdiction under the Act about the…
O’Brien Palmer’s Liam Bailey. Hall Chadwick’s John Shanahan. When you’re on a bad thing abort is the message that one Sydney trustee didn’t get soon enough to prevent the unnecessary enrichment of lawyers. The trustee, after refusing to accede to the wishes of the majority debt holder by resigning, marshalled his defences when the dominant creditor commenced proceedings to have him removed. As valid as…
IRT Advisory’s Andrew Poulter. Following publication of lurid details involving sham arrangements, straw directors and shadowy puppet masters, iNO asked the liquidator responsible for uncovering the imbroglio if he’d reported his findings to ASIC. As it turns out, he had. IRT Advisory’s Andrew Poulter lodged a section 533(1) report with ASIC in January 2018 in respect of what smelled like the liquidation of convenience of…
Trustee in bankruptcy Schon Condon. Hoons, pig dogs, four wheel drives and firearms. The trappings of your average urban bankruptcy are far removed from this exemplar of the trustee’s eclectic lot, which involves rural properties and an estate unresolved after almost 20 years. In this case trustee in bankruptcy Schon Condon, in whom the property of former bankrupt Evan Alfred Cleaver vests despite Cleaver’s discharge…
The late Sam Henderson. A man pronounced dead after emergency services were called to a Sydney hotel has been confirmed as former Jirsch Sutherland partner Sam Henderson. Police were called to the Vibe Hotel in North Sydney around 3pm on Tuesday, April 4 amid concerns for a man’s welfare. “On arrival, officers from North Shore Police Area Command found a 45-year-old man deceased,” NSW Police…
O’Brien Palmer’s Liam Bailey. Christmas spirit was in limited supply at the meeting of creditors of bankrupt builder Tony Saaib late last year, and that’s perhaps understandable. Convened on December 23, 2022 creditors had assembled to consider just one resolution. The removal of the trustee of Saaib’s bankrupt estate and his replacement with rivals joint and several. “I advise that the Indemnity is not payable…