MASRI APARTMENTS PTY. LIMITED ACN 097 751 669 (IN LIQUIDATION) and AUS CONSTRUCTIONS PTY. LIMITED ACN 103 449 663 (IN LIQUIDATION) v. PERPETUAL NOMINEES LIMITED ACN 000 733 700 [2004] NSWCA 471
[2004] NSWCA 471
At a glance
Source factsCourt
Court of Appeal (NSW)
Decision date
2004-12-17
Before
Spigelman CJ, Mason P, Beazley JA, Austin J, Ipp JA
Source
Original judgment source is linked above.
Judgment (13 paragraphs)
Background facts 5 Masri Apartments had acquired a development site at Liverpool upon which AUS Constructions proposed to develop a residential home unit building. To finance the development project, AUS Constructions had obtained 2 loans in a total sum of approximately $12 million ($10 million and $2 million respectively) from MFS Premium Income Fund. Perpetual was the custodian of the loans. Masri guaranteed both loans. The loans were further secured by way of mortgages over Masri's real estate and by fixed and floating charge over the assets of both appellants. The due dates for the loans were 16 months after the date of advance. As the loans were made in September 2003, the due date for payment was January 2005. 6 On 10 March 2004 Perpetual, whose business was, relevantly, conducted from the Gold Coast in Queensland, posted a statutory demand to each appellant dated 5 March 2004 addressed to the respondents at an address in Penshurst, New South Wales. As at the date of posting, that address was, by operation of the provisions of s.142 of the Act, the registered office of the appellants. However, on 4 March 2004, the appellants had lodged a change of address of their registered office with ASIC. In accordance with the provisions of s.142(3) of the Act, that change of address took effect on the seventh day after the notice was lodged, i.e. on 11 March 2004. 7 It was not in dispute that the directors of the appellant did not actually receive the statutory demand. However, pursuant to the provisions of s.109X of the Act and s.29(1) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 (Cth) service was "effected at the time at the letter would be delivered in the ordinary course of post". Austin J proceeded on the assumption that a letter posted from the Gold Coast to suburban Sydney would not have been delivered in the ordinary course of post until at least the second day after posting. On that assumption, the letter would have been delivered on 12 March 2004. By that date however, the appellants' registered office had, by operation of s.142(3), changed to the new address. 8 One of the issues before Austin J was whether service occurred at the time of posting or at the time of presumed receipt. His Honour held that in circumstances where s.29(1) of the Acts Interpretation Act deemed service by post to be effected by properly addressing, prepaying and posting the document as a letter, that service occurred at the point of posting. Accordingly, his Honour found that there had been valid service of the statutory demands. 9 By Summons dated 21 April 2004, Perpetual applied to the Court for the winding up of the appellants on the ground of insolvency: s.459A and on the just and equitable ground: s.461(1)(k). The application for winding up on the ground of insolvency was based upon non-compliance with the statutory demands in accordance with s.459F which provides, relevantly that the period for compliance with a statutory demand is 21 days after service of the demand. 10 A corporation served with a statutory demand may apply to the Court to set aside the demand: s.459G. Such application must be made within 21 days after the demand is served: s.459G(2). As the appellants were unaware of the service of the statutory demands they lost that opportunity. Notwithstanding that no application had been made, Austin J permitted the appellants to raise a genuine dispute about the existence of the debts claimed by Perpetual. His Honour held, and this has not been contested, that it was not necessary for the appellants to obtain leave under s.459S to do so. 11 The question of service having been determined in favour of Perpetual the principal dispute between the parties became whether there had been any default under the loan agreements entitling Perpetual to demand repayment of the full amount owing. Perpetual had alleged three defaults. Of those, his Honour found that there was a genuine dispute in respect of two. However, he found that there had been a default under cl.7.18 of the loan agreement. That clause provided: "The Borrower shall at the option of the Lender be immediately in default upon the occurrence of any of the following events of default: … 7.18 If a Caveat or other encumbrance is registered against the Security Property without the Lender's consent." 12 Two Caveats had been lodged against the real estate at Liverpool. The evidence before his Honour in relation to those Caveats comprised the pleadings in a possession claim made by Perpetual against the appellants. In its Statement of Claim in the Possession List proceeding, Perpetual pleaded that two Caveats had been lodged against the Liverpool land in breach of the loan agreements and that Masri had failed to do everything it could to remove the Caveats, in breach of the mortgages. In their defence, the appellants admitted that two Caveats had been lodged but alleged that neither Caveator had a Caveatable interest. In respect of the first, it was withdrawn immediately upon being challenged. They intended that the second Caveator was Perpetual's finance broker and had lodged a Caveat as a result of Perpetual failing to pay the broker's fees from the loan. They contended that the broker had no Caveatable interest. 13 Austin J found however that it was the registration of the Caveat that gave rise to default under cl.7.18 regardless of whether the Caveat might be open to removal or other challenge. On that finding, Perpetual's debt had become due and owing. 14 The appellants also challenged the formal validity of the statutory demands in that they failed to give an address for service in New South Wales and the supporting affidavits did not comply with the rules of Court governing the form and content of affidavits in winding up proceedings. His Honour rejected both these contentions. It followed, that as his Honour had found that service had been properly effected and that no application had been made under s.459G to set aside the statutory demands within the time prescribed by the Act, that the appellants were presumed to be insolvent under s.459H. 15 His Honour also dealt with the question of the appellant's actual insolvency. 16 His Honour concluded that even without taking into account Perpetual's debt, the appellants were insolvent. His Honour's finding that there was no genuine dispute in respect of the Caveat question meant that the amount claimed in the two statutory demands could not be disputed on any substantial ground. He concluded that taking into account Perpetual's claim, the conclusion that the defendant companies were insolvent was irresistible. 17 The appellants had argued the Court should exercise its discretion against the making of winding up orders so as to permit the appellants to enter into Deeds of Company Arrangement. The principal reason advanced in support of a favourable exercise of discretion was that under the proposed Arrangements, the appellants would be able to prosecute a claim against Perpetual seeking damages for alleged changes made to the funding agreements by Perpetual during the course of the loan agreements. His Honour however was sceptical about the proposal, considering it to be "extremely and unsatisfactorily vague". More particularly, his Honour considered that the directors had had ample time to put forward a specific proposal, as the Court had indicated they ought to do. They had not done so. 18 Finally, his Honour rejected Perpetual's application that the winding up orders be made on the just and equitable ground. However, having found that the two companies were clearly insolvent, he made orders winding them up on the ground of insolvency.