The liquidators of Plutus Payroll Australia, the company at the heart of a high profile $105 million tax fraud, can determine that claims made during the liquidation by some of its 4,500 workers are not claims of employees and do not need to be prioritised.
A judge has consolidated two concurrent cases against the former directors and auditors of collapsed construction company Forge Group, after warning the overlapping actions needed to be carefully managed to avoid it becoming an “unrideable bull”.
The competition regulator is opposing a deal to combine two of Australia’s largest manufacturers of chilled ready meals, and fired a warning shot to companies and administrators who fail to ensure the watchdog is notified of deals with close competitiors.
A recent Federal Court decision means cooperation between courts in different international jurisdictions, which would once have been regarded as entirely novel, may now be a welcome option for liquidators to achieve a more efficient liquidation of insolvent corporate groups, writes K&L Gates’ Jason Opperman, Katherine Smith and Catherine Crawford.
Businessman Clive Palmer has lost an application to put a stop to a trial in a case brought by the liquidators of collapsed Queensland Nickel after arguing the proceeding was continuing largely to pay the litigation funder bankrolling the case.
A restructuring and insolvency solicitor who is suing Russells Lawyers for summarily dismissing him has largely won a discovery dispute over evidence in the case, with a judge ruling the lawyer could access communications between any of the partners related to his termination two years ago.
An Adelaide-based wine exporter which was fined $352,000 for infringing three trade marks of a Treasury Wine Estates unit has been ordered into liquidation by the Victorian Supreme Court.
A judge has sent insolvency firm Ferrier Hodgson back to the drawing board to redraft its pleadings against the former directors and auditors of collapsed construction company Forge Group, warning that the overlapping actions were at risk of becoming an “unrideable bull”.
A judge has refused to join the insurer of collapsed Sydney builder Reed Constructions to insolvent trading proceedings brought by the company’s liquidators, after finding it was unreasonable to expect the insurance company to irrevocably confirm coverage.
The Full Federal Court has dismissed two appeals by convicted land mogul Allen Caratti seeking to prevent liquidators of five of his companies from obtaining documents seized in two 2015 raids by the Australian Federal Police.