Cor Cordis: the resolutions that vaporised Bruno’s WIP

If claims filed in the Supreme Court of Victoria are to be believed the directors of the trustee of the Cor Cordis unit trust passed a series of resolutions that dramatically reduced the value of the firm’s work in progress (WIP) after ex-national managing partner Bruno Secatore retired.

A 43 page writ, filed for Secatore by KingWood Mallesons in the Supreme Court of Victoria on February 12, alleges that the defendants – Cor Cordis Pty Ltd (Trustee) as trustee for the Ridar Unit Trust and Trustee directors and unit holders Daniel Juratowitch, Jeremy Nipps, Sam Kaso, Barry Wight and Mark Hutchins – passed a series of resolutions that cut anticipated remuneration from various appointments to zero.

What’s more, the writ claims that not only did the resolutions allegedly have no rational basis and deny Secatore his rightful share of the WIP, but as a result it’s he who’s indebted to the Trustee.

At the date of his retirement on September 30, 2023 Secatore held 1,575 of the 7,850 ordinary trust units then on issue, comprising a 20.06 per cent stake.

According to the writ, the Trustee entity valued the WIP of the Unit Trust as $23,081,159 as at 31 May 2023.

But in February 2024 Secatore alleges that the Trustee (meaning its directors/unit holders) purported to make resolutions the effect of which was that it attributed to total work in progress of the Unit Trust accrued to 30 June 2023 a value of $15,612,404; to 1 July 2023, a value of $14,509,406; and to 30 September 2023 a value of $12,723,154.

Secatore, who is seeking an order for damages, provides various examples which he alleges demonstrate the irrationality of the resolutions.

WIP in the receivership of Niramaya Developments Pty Ltd (Niramaya) was written down from $493,475 as at September 30, 2023 to zero.

But as Secatore argues, Rachel Burdett and Matthew Joiner were appointed receivers and managers of Niramaya by a secured creditor, they were indemnified for their fees by their appointor, they held an equitable lien to secure their fees and expenses and as at June 30, 2022 the Trustee rated the Niramaya receivership as one of its “Top 10 Recoverable WIP Positions” for its Brisbane Office.

Further, following passage of the resolution writing down the WIP to zero, the real property asset securing the appointor’s loan was sold by Burdett and Joiner for $4.46 million and on January 2025, the Trustee was paid $575,300 in respect of their receivership remuneration.

A similar example is provided in respect of the receivership of ABH Building Group Pty Ltd (ABH), which held a property development in Mosman, Sydney valued on completion at between $13.6 million and $15.4 million.

Neil Cussen and Andre Lakomy were appointed receivers and managers of ABH on February 27, 2023. Both men subsequently left Cor Cordis and were replaced as receiver managers of ABH by Ozem Kassem and Barry Wight on July 24, 2023.

According to Secatore all four were indemnified by their appointor for their fees and that by his retirement date of September 30, 2023 the Trustee’s accrued work in progress on the receivership was $163,002.00.

But on or about February 27, 2024, “the Trustee purported to resolve that the net realisable value of the work in progress accrued to 30 September 2023 was $0”.

Kassem subsequently left Cor Cordis with colleagues Jason Tang and Jonathan Parker to form KPT Restructuring, Wight retired from the appointment and Ozem took the ABH job with him.

“Since the departure of Mr Kassem to KPT Restructuring, the plaintiff is not aware of Mr Kassem having provided any information or update to the Trustee in relation to the receivership,” Secatore’s writ states.

Yet Kassem’s most recent return for ABH, lodged with ASIC last October and covering the period July 25, 2024 to July 24, 2025 indicates he’s been paid $154,000 in remuneration with $44,000 in fees paid between May and July last year.

Kassem also anticipates further realisations of between $18 million and $20 million. How, one might ask, do Juratowitch, Nipps, Kaso, Wight and Hutchins conclude that the WIP the Trustee’s entitled to is unrecoverable?

Next we come to the high profile case of I-Prosperity, which has been in liquidation since 2020 with Nipps and Wight installed as liquidators.

As at June 30, 2022 the Trustee estimated the WIP on the job was worth $1.941 million.

The following year Nipps and Wight conducted public examinations and identified a number of potential claims including one against Crown Resorts with an estimated value of $55 million.

That same year they declined an offer from a litigation funder and continued to progress the claim against Crown Resorts, knowing that if successful their remuneration would be paid in full.

Yet in February 2024 the Trustee resolved to reduce the value of the WIP accrued as at September 30, 2023 from $3,371 million to nil.

Despite this drastic de-rating of the viability of potential claims, Nipps and Wight found a funder whose offer was worth accepting and commenced proceedings against Crown Resorts last year.

These examples are of course Secatore’s version of events and so far the five equity partner/defendants have confirmed only that at this stage they “dispute the allegations and will defend the claim vigorously”.

At least if it does go to a hearing, each defendant will know what works and what doesn’t if at some point in the future they discover that their anticipated share of the WIP has been similarly obliterated.

We asked Kaso and the defendants’ lawyer Sam Bond for an updated response yesterday. We received no reply by iNO’s publication deadline. Hutchins told iNO he wasn’t a director at the time the resolutions were made and is no longer a Ridar unit holder.