Given this is largely about booze and what happened to it, recollections could be cloudy. Nevertheless, PwC’s David Merryweather and Greg Hall will need to summon all their prodigious powers of recall now that the Federal Court has empowered a special purpose liquidator (SPL) to delve into their conduct during August 2013, a time when ownership of the liquid assets of David James‘ teetering beverage empire was apparently unclear. This…
The issue of receivers’ fees and expenses is endlessly vexed it seems. In the Supreme Court of Victoria’s court of appeal this week judgment was delivered in relation to a lengthy battle fought between Hall Chadwick’s David Ross and Richard Albarran and their appointor. The pair were appointed receivers of Action Cycles in July 2011 by Gippsreal Ltd under a deed of appointment and indemnity which…
First it was the DIRRI. Then the supplementary DIRRI. And now it’s the report to creditors. When it comes to TEN Network Holdings, voluntary administrators KordaMentha can scarcely issue a document that isn’t analysed by TEN’s unsuccessful bidders in the hope that some perceived misstep, omission or flaw will deliver the opportunity they need to reverse the consequences of their own miscalculation. This week we’ve seen…
It’s a big few days coming up for KordaMentha with some rapid leaps in the Ten administration possible following receiver PPB’s sale of the network to CBS and the official handover of Arrium taking place at week’s end. This afternoon lawyers for Mark Korda, Jenny Nettleton and Jarrod Villani are due to front the Federal Court in Sydney seeking approval to pay out the secured creditors of the Ten…
Here’s an unholy shemozzle for the Federal Court to exorcise. Two banks, each with multi-million dollar exposures to separate companies within the same group. Four appointees, installed at some point as either receivers or liquidators of various companies within said group. Add the main shareholder and director, who’s defending one bank’s attempts to bankrupt him. Toss in ASIC. Season with allegations that receivers took possession…
There’s nothing like receivers whose retirement from an appointment is only partial to add frisson to the lives of voluntary administrators facing a credit crunch. In the matter of North Queensland Heavy Haulage Services Pty Ltd (Administrators Appointed) [2017] Federal Court Judge Brigitte Markovic articulates a fundamentally sympathetic view of the plight of McGrathNicol trio Keith Crawford, Bill Harris and Anthony Connelly. The three came before…
Well this might propel skyward even the most obese of eyebrows. In a judgment delivered in April this year but updated yesterday NSW Supreme Court judge Ashley Black recounts the curious tale whereby SV Partners’ Daniel Quinn and Darren Vardy took charge – albeit briefly – as voluntary administrators (VAs) of Hunter Valley-based Dan Phillips Holdings Pty Ltd. Their appointment came just as a wind…
Mackay Goodwin principal Domenic Calabretta may be overseas but that is not impeding the progress of some potential grief around an alleged lack of independence working its way towards him via a hearing in the NSW Supreme Court later this year. The grief is in the form of untested allegations – which may or may not be frivolous and/or vexatious – that the fees charged…
With Ten Group voluntary administrators (VAs) facing a cash crisis by week’s end, the interests in control of the free-to-air broadcaster’s future are expected to reach agreement imminently on a deal that will see a new loan facility extended to VA Mark Korda and PPB Advisory appointed as “partial” receivers. Sources close to the administration revealed yesterday that Ten would be required to make payments on…
The Federal Court has a delivered a wide ranging judgment on the disposal of trust assets by liquidators and receiver/managers that will have the Department of Employment’s FEG recovery unit abuzz as it prepares its appeal to the decision of Amerind Pty Ltd (receivers and managers apptd) (in liq) [2017] VSC 127 (23 March 2017). In Kite v Mooney, in the matter of Mooney’s Contractors Pty…