It’s easier to ask for forgiveness....

Oct 15, 2013

I’ve always wanted a motorbike, but my wife won’t let me have one. I once asked a Harley-owning friend of mine how, during his spectacular lycra-clad roller-blading pony-tailed Harley-riding midlife crisis, he managed to get his wife to agree to his Harley. His...

A liquidator’s conscience

Sep 24, 2013

It is not every day that a decision about how to distribute funds in a winding up turns on the conscience of the liquidator. However, the liquidators’ (blissfully untroubled) conscience was the determining factor in a recent decision of the Supreme Court of New South...

Creditor owed money? Reject the proof!

Sep 6, 2013

It is very common for commercial documents to contain provisions which limit the right of creditors to lodge proofs of debt in circumstances where doing so would compete with the rights of another creditor. One of the most common examples is found in guarantees. It is...

When lawyers pay the price: Barnden v Ta....

Aug 20, 2013

Unfortunately, insolvency practitioners are often put to the cost of defending ill-conceived litigation commenced by a bankrupt or some other person who will not be able to fulfil a costs order. The recent decision of Barnden v Tadrosse (No. 2) [2013] FCCA 744 is a...

A wasted appeal: Environmental Protectio....

Jul 25, 2013

The Environmental Protection Authority’s recent challenge to a liquidator’s decision to reject a $49 million proof of debt turned into to a disaster for the EPA. The decision of Acting Justice Young in Environment Protection Authority v Condon [2013] NSWSC 777...