In Capital + Merchant Finance Limited (in receivership) v Vision Securities Limited (in receivership) our Wellington commercial litigation team was successful in the Court of Appeal on a defendant's summary judgment application involving the interpretation of a subordination clause in a Security Trust Deed (Deed).

Burns & Agnew v Commissioner of the Inland Revenue and Strategic Finance Limited (in rec) concerned a dispute between a secured creditor and the IRD (as a preferential creditor) in respect of certain funds received by the liquidators of Takapuna Procurement Limited (TPL).  The liquidators applied to the High Court for directions as to the application of those funds and this required the Court to undertake an analysis of the concept of an "account receivable" for the purposes of determining whether such funds could be applied to satisfy preferential claims under the Seventh

We reported on the first instance decision in this litigation last year (see here).  The New South Wales Court of Appeal recently delivered judgment on the liquidators' appeal.

Mr Petricevic is the former director of Bridgecorp and currently faces criminal charges of fraud that carry with them the possibility of a maximum of 49 years in prison.

The recent case of Simpson v Commission of Inland Revenue (HC, 17/5/2011; Dobson J, Wellington, CIV 2010-485-1860) concerned the issue of whether receivers are personally liable to account for goods and services tax (GST) on the sale of six properties effected by them.

The government placed the Hubbards, their companies (Aorangi Securities and Hubbard Management Funds), and seven charitable trusts in statutory management in June 2010. 

Simpson and Downes v CIR involved an application by receivers for directions under section 34 of the Receiverships Act 1993 in relation to whether the receivers of a mortgagee were personally liable to account for GST on the supply of six properties sold by the receivers at mortgagee sale.

In Jordan and Vance v First City (in liquidation ) & Gore Street (in liquidation), the liquidators of Gore Street applied for a pooling order that the liquidation of the two defendants, First City and Gore Street, proceed as if they were one company.

(High Court Auckland, CIV 2010-404-6381, 8 April 2011, Associate Judge Matthews)

In ASB Bank Limited v Hall, the High Court confirmed that a bank does not owe a duty of care to a creditor, director or shareholder of a customer of the bank. 

The recent case of Re Armitage, ex parte Established Investments Limited (in liquidation) considered an objection by the Official Assignee to Mr Armitage's automatic discharge from bankruptcy.