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Litigation

FEG, Litigation, Receivership 29 June 2018

McGrathNicol: appointor’s asset ploy challenged

The test-case loving litigators running the highly profitable FEG recoveries unit have again spiked McGrathNicol’s cream, this time intervening in an application by the receivers of Australian Road Express (ARX) and Jolly’s Transport Services, who’re seeking orders allowing them to treat receivables as a non-circulating asset. McGrathNicol’s Anthony Connelly, Rob Kirman and Robert Smith made the application back in April this year and served it on…

Liquidations, Liquidators, Litigation 27 June 2018

Lost records an obstacle for Pitchers’ partner

Pitcher Partners’ Paul Weston is displaying exceptional optimism as he attempts to prosecute an insolvent trading case without the benefit of books and records of Starcom Group Pty Ltd. Weston was appointed liquidator of Starcom in early 2011 but only launched the $5.5 million claim in early 2017. Since then he’s reached settlements with Starcom’s chief financial officer and its company secretary and, emboldened and…

Judgment, Liquidations, Liquidators, Litigation, Receivership 20 June 2018

Force Corp receiver saves PPB a packet

PPB Advisory’s Chris Hill has saved his firm hundreds of thousands of dollars after successfully opposing an order for a subpoena sought by the directors of Force Corp (in liquidation), and thanks to Justice Fabian Gleeson, Insolvency News Online (INO) can report on the matter in detail. In the matter of Force Corp Pty Ltd (Recs and Mgrs Apptd) (in liq) [2018] NSWSC 896 (15 June 2018) we…

DIRRIs, Judgment, Liquidations, Liquidators, Litigation 6 June 2018

Gauge of consent means joint need not be several

Insolvent trading actions might be rare but they can have a galvanising effect on directors, as evidenced by the findings of his honour Judge Matthew Dicker of the NSW District Court in the matter of Inner West Demolition (NSW) Pty Limited v Silk [2018] NSWDC 136. In this instance Inner West Demolition initiated proceedings seeking to prise $327,332.50 under s 588M of the Corporations Act…

Judgment, Liquidations, Liquidators, Litigation, Voidable Transactions 6 June 2018

FH trio beset by foes as pot ‘o dollars grows

Having identified more than $60 million in potential recoveries, it’s no surprise that the liquidators of Australian Institute of Professional Education Pty Ltd (AIPE) are battling on various fronts in both attack and defensive modes. Ferrier Hodgson’s (FH) Morgan Kelly, George Georges and Ryan Eagle were appointed by way of a voluntary winding up under section 491 0f the Corporations Act on 6 October 2016. Since then…

Bankruptcy, Liquidations, Liquidators, Litigation, Trustees 1 June 2018

Concurrent appointment almost trips Worrells partner

Nick Cooper is apparently on the verge of extracting himself from an unfortunate stoush with a former bankrupt who launched proceedings against the Worrells’ partner in the South Australian District Court. Cooper told INO yesterday that the matter was the subject of a confidential settlement in the final stages of being agreed to but that it involved an ATO debt and a caveat he’d lodged over property…

Litigation, Litigation Funding, Receivership 25 May 2018

BDO duo served afresh in $50 mill Suncorp claim

While the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry has yet to identify insolvency practitioners (IP) it wants hauled in for questioning, it’s likely some will be checking their professional indemnity policies to ensure they’re up to date. At the moment the Commission is looking at the excesses indulged in by the banks’ lending divisions. Soon that focus will switch…

Judgment, Liquidations, Liquidators, Litigation 23 May 2018

Minotaur stalking Mossgreen labyrinth

It’d be unfair to suggest that every attempt at resolving the Mossgreen auction house imbroglio has merely driven the hapless imbrogliees deeper into the legal warren excavated by their competing claims, but Federal Court Justice Nye Perram’s latest ruling doesn’t exactly dispel the cynicism. In White, in the matter of Mossgreen Pty Ltd (Administrators Appointed) (No 3) [2018] FCA 711 the reality is laid bare. Four classes of creditor claim…

Corporates, Judgment, Liquidations, Liquidators, Litigation 23 May 2018

Pitchers’ Hughes proves stick admissible

A fresh judgment was produced by the Supreme Court of West Australia last week that constitutes a win for Pitcher Partners WA partner and Westgem Investments liquidator Bryan Hughes in his marathon dispute with secured creditor Commonwealth Bank over the date of Westgem’s insolvency. Specifically, the court was asked to decide whether a Quickbooks data file saved to a USB stick constituted “books and records” and was therefore admissible. Initially there’d been been no…

FEG, Liquidators, Litigation, Litigation Funding 18 May 2018

Palmer ups ante in PwC/PPB Advisory intervention

If Prince Harry and his fiance must endure old man Markle crashing their wedding then why should the highest profile pairing in Australia’s insolvency sector be exempt from intervention? The answer is that it even if it should be it isn’t, as evidenced by the confetti of subpoenas and affidavits filed in the Supreme Court of Queensland this week by lawyers representing one Clive Frederick…