Litigation

Language of a colourful kind as rivals clash

Cor Cordis NSW partner Ozem Kassem. Image courtesy Cor Cordis. Daniel Cvitanovic. Image courtesy Worrells. Incendiary language, accusations of insufficient investigations and insinuations around related party proofs – according to its Minutes, the March 10, 2021 meeting of creditors of Ayash Pty Ltd had it all. Steering the meeting towards a vote on a deed of company arrangement (DoCA) that day was Worrells partner Daniel…


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…


Court compels Hall Chadwick duo to reconvene

JP Downey & Co’s Jim Downey. Hall Chadwick’s Richard Lawrence. Richard Lawrence and Richard Albarran have failed in a bid to deny creditors an opportunity to vote to replace them at a first meeting, with a Victorian Supreme Court judge on Wednesday ordering the Hall Chadwick partners to reconvene the first meeting of Bluechain Pty Ltd within seven days. In Re Bluechain Pty Ltd (No…


$45k per month to store HIH records

McGrathNicol’s Jason Preston. McGrathNicol’s Kathy Sozou. McGrathNicol’s Jason Preston is drawing excruciatingly close to concluding the two decades long winding up of the HIH insurance group and as has emerged this week, the end can’t come soon enough with hefty administration costs termiting what funds remain. “We have obtained orders to allow the destruction of the records 90 days after deregistration of the head company…


Insurer funds IP’s legals in defence and cross claim

BRI Ferrier’s David Coyne. It’s not every day a liquidator gets their legal expenses for both the defence of a claim and pursuit of a cross-claim paid for by the applicant and respondent on the other side of the dispute, but BRI Ferrier Victoria boss David Coyne currently occupies this happy place, courtesy of QBE. The uncommon state of affairs came to iNO’s attention whilst…


Adjourned first meeting puts replacement VA on hold

JP Downey & Co’s Jim Downey. Hall Chadwick’s Richard Lawrence. A funny thing happened last week. Whoever chaired the first meeting of creditors of Bluechain Pty Ltd adjourned it without creditors voting on the usual resolutions in respect of whether or not to form a committee of inspection and retain or replace the administrators. Inquiries directed to Bluechain’s incumbent appointees did not elicit a reply….


Liquidator eyes $800k, receivers eye conduct inquiry

PwC’s Andrew Scott. KordaMentha partner Kate Conneely. PwC’s Andy Scott is looking at this point the only obvious winner among the parties scrimmaging over a $2.28 million pot of excess cash Scott has generated in his role as liquidator of Parkway One Pty Ltd and receiver manager of the Parkway One Unit Trust. The other parties – those asserting to be lenders with secured interests…


Judge moved to critique liquidator’s expert testimony

Hall Chadwick’s Blair Pleash. Liquidator David Ross. Following the delivery of judgment in Ross, in the matter of Print Mail Logistics (International) Pty Ltd (in liq) v Elias [2021] FCA 419 lawyers across the land will be pondering how they can avoid having Justice John Reeves anywhere near their applications in respect of alleged uncommercial, unreasonable and insolvent transactions. How to insulate expert witnesses will…


Derailed insolvent trading case burns Pitchers pair

Pitcher Partners’ Andrew Yeo. Pitcher Partners’ Gess Rambaldi. There must’ve been some choice words in the offices of Pitcher Partners Melbourne after a court refused Andrew Yeo and Gess Rambaldi’s application for judicial indulgence in respect of the late submission of evidence critical to a $6 million plus claim for insolvent trading against Simon Freeman of LGL Commodities. Those choice words however remain unpublished, whereas…


HLB Mann Judd partner grilled over FEG negotiations

HLB Mann Judd partner Todd Gammel. Liquidator Todd Gammel endured a light grilling during virtual cross examination on Monday as lawyers for All Filtration Technologies Australia (ALTA) sought to derail the HLB Mann Judd partner’s application for an extension of time in which to bring proceedings related to the ALTA group’s 2015 restructure. Gammel, along with colleague Barry Taylor were required to bring the extension…