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The Federal Court of Australia has recently delivered judgment in the case of Deputy Commissioner of Taxation v ACN 152 259 839 Pty Ltd [2024] FCA 1489. The Court held that in some circumstances, a statutory demand can be validly served on a perceived temporarily empty company office.

On 20 May 2024, an ATO officer purported to serve ACN 152 259 839 Pty Ltd (the Company) with a statutory demand and an accompanying affidavit by leaving the documents at the Company’s registered office.

The Federal Court in Hema Maps Pty Ltd v HemaX Digital Pty Ltd, in the matter of HemaX Digital Pty Ltd [2024] FCA 1127, appointed a provisional liquidator to preserve the status quo until the determination of a winding up application. This winding up application was due to a deadlock and an irreparable breakdown in relations between shareholders, and mismanagement of the company.

Key Takeaways

The US Supreme Court ruled in a landmark 5-4 decision on June 27, 2024 that nonconsensual third-party releases, as proposed in Purdue Pharma’s bankruptcy plan, were not permissible under the Bankruptcy Code. A nonconsensual third-party release serves to eliminate the direct claims of third parties against nondebtor parties without soliciting the consent of such affected claimants. This contrasts with consensual releases and opt-in or opt-out mechanisms permitted by courts.

In the matter of Bleecker Property Group Pty Ltd (In Liquidation) [2023] NSWSC 1071, appears to be the first published case that considers the question of whether an order can be made under section 588FF(1)(a) of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) by way of default judgment against one defendant where there are multiple defendants in the proceedings.

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In the wake of several high-profile collapses of cryptocurrency exchanges, most notably FTX, Celsius, and Voyager, the state of the digital asset landscape is ever-changing, with more questions and landmines than clear paths forward. Among the many issues that arise in these bankruptcy cases is the question of how to treat and classify digital assets, especially cryptocurrencies—e.g., who owns the cryptocurrencies deposited by customers.

This week’s TGIF considers In the matter of BCA National Training Group Pty Ltd (in liq) [2023] NSWSC 366, in which the priority between a liquidator’s remuneration and expenses claims and the claims of preferred creditors was clarified.

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This week’s TGIF concerns Kennedy Civil Contracting Pty Ltd (Admins Appt) v Richard Crookes Construction Pty Ltd [2023] NSWSC 99, in which the New South Wales Supreme Court determined that an insolvent company’s creditors could properly make a DOCA to maintain the right under security of payment legislation to recover amounts that would have been lost on entry into liquidation.

Key takeaways

In Greylag Goose Leasing 1410 Designated Activity Company v P T Garuda Indonesia Ltd [2022] NSWSC 1623, the Foreign States Immunities Act 1985 (Cth) provided immunity from insolvency proceedings in relation to a foreign corporation that is State-controlled.

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