On 14 July 2015, the South Australian District Court in Matthews v The Tap Inn Pty Ltd [2015] SADC 108 handed down a decision whose underlying reasoning could, if applied by superior courts around Australia, broaden the scope for liquidators to pursue unfair preference claims against secured creditors.

The decision

Based on the current state of judicial consideration of s 548 (1) of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) (the Act), liquidators cannot be certain that a committee of inspection (COI) established at a general meeting of creditors alone is valid with the consequence that liquidators may be concerned about their reliance on past and future COI approvals to draw remuneration and take other steps in the winding up.

Re: the Bell Group Ltd (In Liquidation)

The important role of standard terms of sale

The standard terms of sale of a supplier can form part of a credit application by its customer, appear on sales invoices or order forms or on the supplier’s website and there are many other combinations of documentation and procedures that can be used to establish written evidence of the terms of the contract between the supplier and its customer. Just as important, there are many reasons why these combinations may come unstuck.

On 11 March 2015, the High Court delivered the following significant decisions (Grant Samuel Corporate Finance v Fletcher [2015] HCA 8 and Fortress Credit Corporation (Australia) II Pty Ltd v Fletcher [2015] HCA 10) in relation to s588FF(3) of theCorporations Act 2001 (Cth).

In the matter of One.Tel Limited (in liquidation) [2014] NSWSC 1892

In the recent decision of Pt Bayan Resources TBK v BCBC Singapore Pte Ltd [2014] WASCA 178, the Western Australian Court of Appeal unanimously found that the Rules of the Supreme Court 1971 (WA) (RSC) were valid insofar as they empower the Court to ‘freeze’ local assets ahead of a possible foreign judgment.

Introduction

Owen, in the Matter of RiverCity Motorway Pty Ltd (Administrators Appointed) (Receivers and Managers Appointed) (“RiverCity”) [2014] FCA 1008

The recent case of Re J T Frith Ltd [2012] EWHC 196 (Ch) shows:

• how secured lenders may surrender their security in order to participate in the prescribed part available for unsecured creditors on insolvency; and
• how intercreditor deeds may be worded to allow senior secured creditors to participate in the prescribed part, despite retaining their security.

Background

Summary

The High Court has held in the “Extended Liens” application that a “general lien” granted by a client of Lehman Brothers International (Europe) (“LBIE”) over financial collateral held by LBIE as security for obligations owed by the client to LBIE or any other Lehman entity was a valid floating charge, both in relation to the client’s debts to LBIE and its debts to LBIE’s affiliates.