Judgment

Ex VAs deprived of indemnity for adverse costs

Hall Chadwick’s Richard Albarran. Hall Chadwick’s Richard Lawrence. A judge has added a lick of Bitrex to the unpalatable pill Richard Albarran and Richard Lawrence are being forced to stomach after creditors removed them as voluntary administers (VAs) of Bluechain Pty Ltd. Last Thursday Justice Jim Delaney of the Supreme Court of Victoria ordered that the Hall Chadwick pair pay the costs of an application…


VA’s professional skepticism AWOL on adjournment bid

Grant Thornton’s Phil Campbell-Wilson. On the Sabbath the director gaveth, and on the Monday a judge tooketh away, though not before querying what he perceived as a lack of “professional skepticism” exhibited by one of Grant Thornton’s top insolvency and restructuring partners. The occasion was an application to adjourn a winding up hearing launched by the very recently appointed voluntary administrators (VAs) of Ming Tian…


Liquidators exit after judge declines to remove

Romanis Cant’s Tony Cant. Romans Cant’s Renee Di Carlo. It’s not often that two liquidators fend off efforts to remove them only to resign shortly thereafter but Romanis Cant’s Tony Cant and Renee Di Carlo can boast of being such a pair. Nine months ago Federal Court judge Neil McKerracher refused an application by Sands Contracting Pty Ltd for orders removing Cant and Di Carlo…


Validity issues stalk Adaman VAs

Cor Cordis partner Jeremy Nipps. Cor Cordis partner Barry Wight. Jeremy Nipps and Barry Wight are likely enjoying getting their teeth into an administration of the scale of troubled gold miner Adaman Resources and that includes coping with challenges to the validity of their appointment as well as dealing with assertive creditors seeking intel and assertive directors asserting privilege over that intel. As is detailed…


Frisken flayed for preferring preferences

O’Brien Palmer’s Daniel Frisken. O’Brien Palmer’s Daniel Frisken might be feeling a little uneasy after NSW Supreme Court judge Kate Williams this week refused his application seeking to claw back $740,000 in preferences paid to the ATO by labour hire company Pacific Steelfixing Pty Ltd (Pacific). This is because In the matter of Pacific Steelfixing Pty Ltd [2021] NSWSC 655 the judge described as not…


Liquidators lashed after staff lose redundancy

Joe Hayes of Wexted Advisers. Wexted Advisors Andrew McCabe. Liquidators Joe Hayes and Andrew McCabe have copped a bollicking from Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) senior member Chris Puplick for what might qualify as the sin of disinterest. As is revealed in the recent decision of Tjoputra and Secretary, Attorney-General’s Department [2021] AATA 1596 the Wexted Advisors pair didn’t inform two employees of Object Consulting Pty…


Court okays administrator’s “truncated liquidation”

McGrathNicol Partner Kathy Sozou. Image McGrathNicol. Wexted Advisors’ Joe Hayes. There cannot be too many insolvency practitioners who first worked on an external administration as a graduate accountant and almost 20 years later are preparing to deregister the same entity as partner. Kathy Sozou can lay claim to imminent inclusion in this elite group. The revelation of the McGrathNicol partner’s trauma unit-to-crematorium involvement in Black…


Judge slams “totally disproportionate” fees

Hamilton Murphy principal Richard Rohrt. Hamilton Murphy’s Stephen Dixon. Hamilton Murphy’s Richard Rohrt and Stephen Dixon have a Ferrari to sell now that they’ve been appointed receivers and managers over the property, assets and undertaking of The Rose Guerin and Partners Trust but getting paid for their labours won’t be straightforward after a judge ripped ’em a newie in respect of their “totally disproportionate” fees….


Beware the expression of opinions in affidavits

Pitcher Partners’ Andrew Yeo. Andrew Yeo has copped some judicial stick for opinions expressed in an affidavit the Pitcher Partners’ rain maker filed in defence of proceedings brought by Norm Carey, founder of the long since collapsed Westpoint Property Group. In a recent judgment WA Supreme Court Master Craig Sanderson said that Yeo should have kept his views on the legitimacy of Carey’s action to…


Win for Bettles pyrrhic if ASIC prevails

Worrells partner Jason Bettles. Editor’s Note: On Friday, August 18, 2023 Justice Brigitte Markovic of the Federal Court of Australia dismissed ASIC’s case against liquidator Jason Bettles and ordered the regulator to pay Bettles’ costs. Worrells’ Jason Bettles has had another win in his ongoing fight with ASIC, which throws money at poorly articulated misconduct cases knowing the costs of setbacks are recoverable via Industry…