Everlyte Ltd and Registrar of Personal Property Securities [2020] AATA 2584 (30 July 2020) K Parker, Member

PERSONAL PROPERTY SECURITIES REGISTER (PPSR) – Applicant registered security interest in collateral (helicopter) – helicopter stolen and sold to other party – other party on-sold helicopter to third party and applied to register financing change statement to end applicant’s interest – meaning of “security interest” – decision affirmed

Ford (Administrator), in the matter of The PAS Group Ltd (Administrators Appointed) v Scentre Management Ltd [2020] FCA 1023

Factual background

Caron and Seidlitz v Jahani and McInerney in their capacity as liquidators of Courtenay House Pty Ltd (in liq) and Courtenay House Capital Trading Group Pty Ltd (in liq) (No 2) [2020] NSWCA 117

The Coronavirus Economic Response Package Omnibus Act 2020 (Cth) (Omnibus Act) amended the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) (Act) and the Corporations Regulations 2001 (Cth) (Regulations) with effect from 25 March 2020 to create a “safety net” for Australian businesses facing COVID-19 related financial distress.

The recent decision of the Federal Court in Strawbridge, in the matter ofVirgin Australia Holdings Ltd (administrators appointed) [2020] FCA 571 provides an example of the Court granting flexibility to administrators performing their functions through the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Boensch v Pascoe [2019] HCA 49

The High Court has recently considered the question of whether, and in what circumstances, property held by a bankrupt on trust for a third party vests in the trustee in bankruptcy pursuant to s 58 of the Bankruptcy Act 1966 (Cth): Boensch v Pascoe [2019] HCA 49. The decision was handed down late last year, providing further guidance for trustees following Carter Holt Harvey Woodproducts Australia Pty Ltd v The Commonwealth (2019) 93 ALJR 807.

Facts

Mr Lock and Mr Sheahan (the liquidators) performed their roles as administrators, and then as liquidators, of three companies.

The liquidators carried out numerous tasks across four work streams: (1) investigating the identities of a creditor and shareholders of one of the companies; (2) potential claims against the companies’ directors and a bank; (3) issues arising under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (Cth); and (4) applications relating to receivers that had been appointed.

King (Trustee); In the matter of Zetta Jet Pte Ltd v Linkage Access Limited [2018] FCA 1979 is the latest in a series of decisions, across multiple proceedings, dealing with the dogged attempts of a United States bankruptcy trustee to recover a luxury yacht moored in Australian waters.

Introduction

In Botsman v Bolitho [2018] VSCA 278, the Court of Appeal unanimously allowed an appeal from the decision of Croft J to approve the settlement of two related proceedings arising from the failed merger of Banksia Securities Limited (Banksia) and Statewide Secured Investments Limited (Statewide).

In this proceeding, the Full Court of the Federal Court considered three main issues:

• whether certain on-lending arrangements gave rise to legitimate tax deductions for interest;
• duties and liabilities of directors who were not directly involved in the impugned transactions; and
• costs payable by a representative where claims were brought against the estate of a deceased director and the representative of that estate, in his own right.

Facts