Avoiding SOPA adjudications ain’t....

Sep 3, 2014

In the recent case of Seabreeze v Topsou, a developer learned that it ain’t a breeze to avoid the application of the Building and Construction Industry Security for Payment Act 1999 (NSW) (SOPA). Seabreeze was developing land at Manly and sailed into a contract...

Liquidators of 1st Fleet obtain judgment....

Aug 27, 2014

ERA Legal recently acted for the liquidators of 1st Fleet Pty Limited (in liquidation) in obtaining a judgment in excess of $75,000 against a debtor of the company. In a claim that concerned a private carrier of freight, the Court was asked to decide whether the...

Supreme Court puts Hall v Poolman back i....

Aug 15, 2014

In a well known 2009 decision, Hall v Poolman [2009] NSWCA 64, a liquidator was criticised for pursuing a claim in circumstances where the entire sum recovered would be paid to the liquidator and his funder, leaving creditors without a return. This criticism did not...

A shot across the bows

Aug 11, 2014

Do liquidators have a duty of care to the guarantors of secured debt? A recent decision of the Victorian Supreme Court has built on a 2007 South Australian decision suggesting that they do. Perpetual Nominees v McGoldrick & Anor [2014] VSC 152 (link) serves as a...

Fraud, corruption, and coldies at the Lo....

Aug 7, 2014

The last week has seen a flurry of interesting court decisions from State and Federal courts. Six decisions are of particular note, and each is worthy of a separate, detailed update. However, six consecutive updates would just be annoying, so all six cases will be...