The High Court will consider the validity of “holding” deed of company arrangements (commonly known as “holding DOCAs”) under the Part 5.3A of the Corporations Act (theAct).

When Michael Howard invested in the Great Southern 2006 Organic Olives Income Project, he was confident it would prove to be a fine investment. So confident, that he borrowed the total cost from Great Southern Finance (GSF).

Little did he expect that 12 years later he would be defending a loan recovery action by the Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Limited (Bendigo Bank) for a large debt in a project which never paid a return and was wound up early because it had run out of funds.

Court of Appeal Clarifies the Tension Between Disclaimed Property and State Based Laws

On 9 March 2018, the Queensland Court of Appeal overturned the controversial first instance decision of the Supreme Court in the matter of Linc Energy Pty Ltd (In Liquidation).[1]

The Court of Appeal’s judgement is significant, as it clarifies the position regarding:

It may now be easier for Australian insolvency practitioners to carry out investigations and recover assets located in Hong Kong and in mainland China. On 8 February 2018, and for the first time, the High Court of Hong Kong granted an application for recognition and assistance in that jurisdiction for voluntary liquidators of an entity incorporated in the British Virgin Islands.

Summary

On 24 August 2017, Messrs Park, Olde and Hansell were appointed joint and several administrators of SurfStitch Group Limited. Prior to their appointment, two shareholder class actions were commenced against SurfStitch. The administrators identified 3,313 shareholders who may be potential group members in the class actions.

This week’s TGIF is the first of a two-part series considering Commonwealth v Byrnes [2018] VSCA 41, the Victorian Court of Appeal’s decision on appeal from last year’s Re Amerind decision about the insolvency of corporate trustees.

This first part looks closely at what the Court of Appeal did – and did not – decide in relation to how receivers and liquidators should deal with property recovered pursuant to an insolvent corporate trustee’s right of indemnity.

In September 2017, the Commonwealth Parliament passed the Treasury Laws Amendment (2017 Enterprise Incentives No. 2) Act 2017 (Cth) to amend and reform the insolvency and external administration provisions of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth).

One of the main changes implemented by these reforms was the introduction of a ‘safe harbour’ protection for company directors.

Following a landmark decision in the Full Federal Court, employees will retain their priority to payment of their entitlements in a company liquidation, even where the company is a corporate trustee of a trust.

This week’s TGIF is the second of a two-part series considering Commonwealth v Byrnes [2018] VSCA 41, the Victorian Court of Appeal’s decision on appeal from last year’s Re Amerind decision about the insolvency of corporate trustees.