On 16 March 2022, the Australian High Court handed down its decision in Wells Fargo Trust Company, National Association (As Owner Trustee) & Anor v VB Leaseco Pty Ltd (Administrators Appointed) & Ors [2022] HCA 8. This is the first judgment by a court of final appeal on the interaction between the Cape Town Convention and local insolvency laws.
Background
The High Court has handed down the long-awaited decision of Stubbings v Jams 2 Pty Ltd [2022] HCA 6, unanimously overturning the decision of the Victorian Court of Appeal. In so doing, the Court held that enforcement of rights under a personal guarantee was unconscionable.
The High Court today gave the first decision, globally, of a Court of ultimate appeal on the question of the construction of Article XI(2) of the Cape Town Convention's protocol on Matters Specific to Aircraft Equipment (Aircraft Protocol), which is of seminal importance for financiers and lessors of aircraft property, insolvency administrators globally.
The High Court of Australia’s decision in Wells Fargo Trust Company, National Association (as Owner Trustee) & Anor v VB Leaseco Pty Ltd (Administrators Appointed) & Ors (the “Willis” case).
On Wednesday, 16 March 2022, the High Court of Australia handed down its decision in the Willis case.
This week’s TGIF considers the recent decision of In the matter of PIC Lindfield 19 Pty Ltd (in liq)[2022] NSWSC 271, in which former directors of the company in liquidation failed to set aside summonses for public examination on the basis of alleged non-disclosure by the liquidators.
Key Takeaways
The following 6 cases have been reported in our Bankruptcy & Insolvency practice area:
Walton v ACN 004 410 833 Ltd (formerly Arrium Ltd) (in liq) — Insolvency | High Court upholds shareholders’ application for examination summons
In the past, the reliance on section 553C of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) (Act) as a ‘set-off’ defence to an unfair preference claim, under section 588FA of the Act, has caused controversy in the insolvency profession. Due to a recent decision of the Federal Court of Australia, the ‘set-off’ defence is no longer a defence to an unfair preference claim.
On 23 February 2022, WBHO Australia Pty Ltd and 17 other companies in the Probuild group (Probuild, or the Group), entered voluntary administration in Australia. Probuild is one of the largest construction groups in Australia, working on many large office, residential and resources related construction projects across the country.
In a recent case involving key stakeholders in the ‘Century Mine’ (Mine) – located in the lower Gulf of Carpentaria region in Northwest Queensland – the Supreme Court of Queensland considered an application brought by a liquidator and creditor for the termination of a winding up of pursuant to section 482(1) of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) (Application).
Background
The Mine was operated by Century Mining Ltd (formerly Century Zinc Ltd) (Century). It was one of the largest zinc mines in the world.
In brief - The collapse of national construction company ProBuild sent shockwaves through the industry with flow-on effects felt by many stakeholders. What role can early risk identification and mitigation play in saving a company from entering administration?
When a principal contractor or senior builder enters administration, there are a significant number of risks which, if navigated property, can be mitigated to minimise loss.