Termite Resources NL (Termite) had operated the Cairn Hill Mine in South Australia from 2010. As a wholly owned subsidiary of Outback Iron Pty Ltd (Outback), Termite operated the mine as an incorporated joint venture between IMX Resources (IMX) and Taifeng Yuanchuang International Development Co Ltd (Taifeng).

On Friday 7 October 2016, McCullough Robertson successfully obtained orders on behalf of a US Chapter 7 bankruptcy trustee, requiring payment to her of money held by the Public Trustee of Queensland (Public Trustee) on behalf of a US bankrupt and her former husband. As far as we know, this is the first time that the Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency (Model Law) has been used in Australia to obtain an order allowing the repatriation of funds to a foreign representative that are not the foreign debtor’s assets.

Welcome to this issue of Herbert Smith Freehills' Australian Construction Dispute Resolution Newsletter.

This newsletter updates you on legal developments relevant to your industry by featuring Australian court decisions and legislative developments of particular interest.

In this issue, we look at:

Section 447A

JOEL COOK Associate, Litigation and Dispute Resolution Group, McCabes

ANDREW LACEY Principal, Litigation and Dispute Resolution Group, McCabes

legal update

ONE SIZE DOES NOT FIT ALL

Varying the scope of the Part 5.3A moratorium on proceedings against companies in voluntary administration.

There have been recent reports that APR Energy PLC has threatened the Australian Government with a demand for $200 million in damages based on a claim under the Australia-United States Free Trade Agreement after it lost its security interest in multi-million dollar wind turbines it leased to an Australian company due to the operation of a provision in the Personal Property Securities Act 2009 (Cth) (PPSA).

When an individual becomes bankrupt, the bankrupt’s property vests in the bankruptcy Trustee with a number of exceptions. One exception is in respect of the bankrupt’s interest in a regulated superannuation fund, an approved deposit fund or an exempt public sector superannuation scheme.

In Berryman v Zurich Australia Ltd, the Supreme Court of Western Australia considered the claim of a bankrupt who had brought an action against his insurance company for breach of contract following its denial of his total disability claim (the bankrupt had claimed under the policy for A$2m). 

Australian-listed Slater & Gordon, the world’s first publicly traded law firm, is preparing to post what is understood to be legal sector’s biggest ever annual loss.  A profit warning filed with the Australian Securities Exchange, reveals the firm's full-year net loss after tax for the year ended 30 June is expected to total A$1,017.6m. 

Last month former Kleenmaid director Bradley Young not so valiantly marched into the history books when found guilty of 17 charges of insolvent trading and one count of fraud after one of the longest criminal trials ever held in Queensland. This followed fellow director, Gary Armstrong, pleading guilty to two counts of insolvent trading and one count of fraud.

This week’s TGIF looks at the departure from the general costs rule considered in In the matter of Condor Blanco Mines Ltd (No. 2) in circumstances where the administrator was found not to have discharged the duty of essential neutrality.