Laurus Group Pty Ltd (admin apptd) v Mitsui & Co. (Australia) Ltd (No 2) [2023] VSC 412

INTRODUCTION AND PROCEEDINGS

Executive Summary

The NSW Court of Appeal has allowed Garuda Indonesia to invoke sovereign immunity to foil an insolvency proceeding brought by aircraft lessor Greylag Goose Leasing.

The Court’s decision is Greylag Goose Leasing 1410 Designated Activity Company v P.T. Garuda Indonesia Ltd [2023] NSWCA 134 (14 June 2023) (Bell CJ, Meagher JA and Kirk JA agreeing).

The Federal Court of Australia recently determined an application brought by the administrators of a company in voluntary administration seeking judicial guidance on how to deal with claims for costs and interests resulting from two prior arbitrations. The key issue was whether the costs and interests awarded in the previous arbitrations were admissible to proof in the administration of the company, having regard to the fact that the relevant arbitral awards were made after the appointment of administrators.

The Court made a distinction between the two arbitrations as follows:

In this week’s TGIF, we consider Hutton, in the matter of Caydon Flemington Pty Ltd (Receivers and Managers appointed) (In liq) [2023] FCA 796, a Federal Court decision concerning the grant of an extension after the ‘critical time’ for the vesting of a security interest.

Key takeaways

The Commonwealth Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services Corporate insolvency in Australia was released on 12 July 2023.

The Report states that the construction industry is experiencing one of the highest rates of insolvencies compared to other sectors. The Report cited ASIC data which shows that the number of companies entering external administration has increased relative to the same month in the previous two financial years, with the construction industry being the most highly represented.

We are excited to share the inaugural edition of R+I In Brief, where we explore the past year of developments in the Australian restructuring and insolvency industry and provide our thoughts on the year ahead.

The 2023 edition of R+I In Brief includes a collection of articles and case notes we have prepared as well as some further commentary on issues we consider pertinent to the restructuring and insolvency industry.

It is broken up into three parts:

In this Part of the 2023 edition of R+I In Brief, we delve into significant judicial developments relating to insolvency law, including:

Part 1 of the 2023 edition of R+I In Brief explores restructuring and insolvency developments in Australia in FY22/23.

Overview

Despite the challenges flowing from increasing global inflation and supply chain disruptions, the Australian economy has to date remained resilient and a technical recession has been avoided in 2023. However, after many years of historically low interest rates, the Reserve Bank of Australia raised interest rates rapidly from April 2022 (12 rate rises and counting) as inflation became uncontrollable.

This Part of the 2023 edition of R+I In Brief provides key industry and sector insights relating to the restructuring space over the past year. These hot topics include: