[2025] FCA 620
General information, not legal advice.
Federal Court of Australia
2025-05-15
Markovic J
Original judgment source is linked above.
IN THE MATTER OF SARGON CAPITAL PTY LIMITED (RECEIVERS AND MANAGERS APPOINTED) (IN LIQUIDATION) (ACN 608 799 873)
ANDREW MCCABE IN HIS CAPACITY AS JOINT AND SEVERAL LIQUIDATOR OF SARGON CAPITAL PTY LIMITED (RECEIVERS AND MANAGERS APPOINTED) (IN LIQUIDATION) (ACN 608 799 873)
JOSEPH HAYES IN HIS CAPACITY AS JOINT AND SEVERAL LIQUIDATOR OF SARGON CAPITAL PTY LIMITED (RECEIVERS AND MANAGERS APPOINTED) (IN LIQUIDATION) (ACN 608 799 873)
MR ROBERT RANKIN (and others named in the Schedule)
Leave to serve Supplementary Documents outside Australia on second, fourth and fifth defendants
(a) a sealed copy of the orders of Markovic J made on 4 December 2024;
(b) a sealed copy of the orders of Markovic J made on 12 February 2025;
(c) a sealed copy of the orders of Markovic J made on 12 March 2025;
(d) a sealed copy of the orders of Markovic J made on 2 April 2025;
(e) a sealed copy of the orders of Markovic J made on 1 May 2025;
(f) the plaintiffs' interlocutory process filed 30 April 2025 (Interlocutory Process);
(g) the affidavit of Blake Joel O'Neill affirmed 28 April 2025;
(h) the affidavit of Kobe Monroe sworn 2 April 2025;
(i) the affidavit of Ronald Ryan sworn 13 January 2025;
(j) the affidavit of Frederick Pringle sworn 3 April 2025;
(k) Exhibit A tendered at the hearing of the Interlocutory Process before Markovic J on 15 May 2025; and
(l) a sealed copy of these Orders,
(a) the sealed originating process dated 26 November 2024;
(b) the sealed affidavit of Andrew McCabe dated 25 November 2024;
(c) the sealed affidavit of Alexander Dennis Blackie dated 27 November 2024;
(d) the Supplementary Documents,
(e) Form 26A - Notice to person served outside Australia dated 15 May 2025 addressed to Mr Owen (Owen Form 26A);
(f) leaving a copy of the Documents and Owen Form 26A addressed to Mr Owen at 929 Highview Avenue, Manhattan Beach, CA 90266 United States of America; and
(g) sending a copy of the Documents and Owen Form 26A by email to andrewcorkhill@quinnemanuel.com and jackoakley@quinnemanuel.com.
Substituted service on Matthew Simon Nash Kibble
(a) leaving a copy of the Documents and Kibble Form 26A addressed to Mr Kibble at 135 Worth Court N, West Palm Beach, FL 33405 United States of America; and
(b) sending a copy of the Documents and Kibble Form 26A by email to andrewcorkhill@quinnemanuel.com and jackoakley@quinnemanuel.com.
Amendment to the orders made on 1 May 2025 and orders for leave to serve Supplementary Documents outside Australia on the first and third defendants
"The plaintiffs have leave pursuant to rule 10.44 of the Federal Court Rules 2011 (Cth) to serve a sealed copy of these orders on the first and third defendants in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland."
Note: Entry of orders is dealt with in Rule 39.32 of the Federal Court Rules 2011.
(1) Aron Ping D'Souza, the first defendant, who was a director of Sargon Capital from 16 October 2015 to 20 July 2019. Mr D'Souza resides in the United Kingdom (UK);
(2) Mr Owen, the second defendant, who was a director of Sargon Capital from 1 May 2018 to 21 June 2019. Mr Owen resides in the USA;
(3) Robert Rankin, the third defendant, who was a director of Sargon Capital from 14 May 2018 to 23 January 2020. Mr Rankin resides in the UK;
(4) Mr Kibble, the fourth defendant, who was appointed a director of Sargon Capital on 28 September 2018 and continues in that office. Mr Kibble resides in the USA; and
(5) Mr Wasserman, the fifth defendant, who was also appointed a director of Sargon Capital on 28 September 2018 and also continues in that office. Mr Wasserman resides in the USA.
(1) Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan were instructed to and did act on behalf of Messrs Owen and Kibble in relation to the examination proceeding;
(2) Mr Owen swore and served two unfiled affidavits in the examination proceeding each recording his address as 929 Highview Avenue, Manhattan Beach CA 90266 USA (Manhattan Beach Address); and
(3) Mr Kibble affirmed and served an unfiled affidavit in the examination proceeding which records his address as 135 Worth Court North, West Palm Beach, Florida, 33404 USA (West Palm Beach Address).
Correspondence between ERA Legal and Quinn Emanuel
...
As should be clear from the above matters, our clients believe there is no merit to the claims threatened in the SoC, and will vigorously defend any insolvent trading allegations made against them. That said, each of our clients is open to discussing alternatives to proceedings being commenced against them, including providing (further) assistance to the liquidators in respect of claims they may wish to bring against other parties (such as Taiping, Andy Wang and/or the Company's auditors).
If, however, proceedings are commenced against our clients, we put you on notice that:
(a) our clients will be seeking substantial security for their costs before taking any step in those proceedings; and
(b) our clients will be calling upon the Company (through your clients) to indemnify each of them against all liability in connection with those proceedings and for their defence costs to be advanced by the Company pursuant to the indemnities granted by the Company in Clause 3 of each of their Director's Deeds.
(1) on 3 December 2024 he attended the Manhattan Beach Address and was informed by the house cleaner that Mr Owen was not home but that he was due back the following day between 12.00 pm and 2.00 pm;
(2) on 4 December 2024 at 2.00 pm he attended the Manhattan Beach Address. On this occasion no one answered the door and he did not observe any activity on the property;
(3) on 9 December 2024 he attempted to personally serve Mr Owen with the originating process and supplementary documents at the Manhattan Beach Address. At the time of attempting service Mr Monroe was informed that Mr Owen was "out of town in Las Vegas for a few days";
(4) on 24 December 2024 he attended the Manhattan Beach Address and after receiving no response to his knocks on the front door, observed a package on the doorstep addressed to "Monique and Tony Owen"; and
(5) on 2 January 2025 he attended the Manhattan Beach Address and was informed by a person attending to the pool that Mr Owen was "on vacation and [was] not expected home until next week".
(1) on 2 December 2024 he attended the West Palm Beach Address and was informed by a person who appeared to him to be a live-in nanny that Mr Kibble was not home and that he was not expected to be home for three or four days;
(2) on 6 December 2024 he attended the West Palm Beach Address on which occasion it appeared to him that there was no one at the property;
(3) on 7 December 2024 he attended the West Palm Beach Address and, after receiving no response to his attempts of service at the front door of the property, observed a package by the front door addressed to "Matthew Kibble";
(4) on 12 December 2024 he attended the West Palm Beach Address on which occasion there was no answer; and
(5) on 13 December 2024 he attended the West Palm Beach Address and observed the same person that he spoke to on 2 December 2024 through the blinds inside the house. Mr Ryan knocked on the door many times but there was no answer.
(1) on 3 December 2024 at the time of attempting to personally serve the originating process and supplementary documents on Mr Wasserman at the New York City Address there was no answer to the doorbell and he was unable to discern if anyone was at the property;
(2) on 4 December 2024 he attended the New York City Address and spoke to a female who would not identify herself but who informed him that "Mr Wasserman is away". The female did not provide any further information;
(3) on 2 January 2025 he attempted to personally serve the originating process and supplementary documents on Mr Wasserman at the New York City Address but there was no answer when he rang the doorbell; and
(4) on 10 January 2025 he attended the New York City Address and spoke to the same female that he spoke to on 4 December 2024 who again refused to identify herself but advised that "Edward Wasserman is not home".
An originating application, together with each document required to accompany the application by rule 8.05, rule 10.43B or any other rule of the Court, may be served outside Australia without leave in the following cases:
...
(j) if the proceeding arises under a law of the Commonwealth, a State or a Territory, and:
(i) any act or omission to which the proceeding relates was done or occurred in Australia; or
(ii) any loss or damage to which the proceeding relates was sustained in Australia; or
(iii) the law applies expressly or by implication to an act or omission that was done or occurred outside Australia in the circumstances alleged; or
(iv) the law expressly or by implication confers jurisdiction on the Court over persons outside Australia (in which case any requirements of the law relating to service must be complied with);
...
Operation outside this jurisdiction
(4) Subject to subsection (8), each provision of this Act also applies, according to its tenor, in relation to acts and omissions outside this jurisdiction
(7) Each provision of this Act applies according to its tenor to:
(i) resident in this jurisdiction or not; and
(ii) resident in Australia or not; and
(iii) Australian citizens or not; and
(b) all bodies corporate and unincorporated bodies whether:
(i) formed or carrying on business in this jurisdiction or not; and
(ii) formed or carrying on business in Australia or not.
Any document other than an originating application may be served outside Australia with the leave of the Court, which may be given with any directions that the Court considers appropriate.
If service on a person outside Australia, in accordance with a convention, the Hague Convention or the law of a foreign country, was not successful, a party may apply to the Court without notice for an order:
(a) substituting another method of service; or
(b) specifying that, instead of being served, certain steps be taken to bring the document to the attention of the person; or
(c) specifying that the document is taken to have been served:
(i) on the happening of a specified event; or
(ii) at the end of a specified time.
Provided the State of destination does not object, the present Convention shall not interfere with -
a) the freedom to send judicial documents, by postal channels, directly to persons abroad,
b) the freedom of judicial officers, officials or other competent persons of the State of origin to effect service of judicial documents directly through the judicial officers, officials or other competent persons of the State of destination,
c) the freedom of any person interested in a judicial proceeding to effect service of judicial documents directly through the judicial officers, officials or other competent persons of the State of destination.
(1) the relevant acts or omissions to which the proceeding relates were done or occurred in Australia;
(2) loss and damage which has arisen by reason of the defendants' contravention of s 588G of the Corporations Act was sustained in Australia;
(3) pursuant to s 5(4) of the Corporations Act, the provisions of the Corporations Act apply in relation to acts or omissions outside of Australia; and
(4) pursuant to s 5(7) of the Corporations Act, the provisions of the Corporations Act, apply to persons outside of Australia.
In our view, s 5 of the Corporations Act comprises a clear expression of Parliament's intention that the provisions of the Corporations Act are, according to their tenor, to operate extraterritorially. This expression of Parliamentary intention operates to displace the presumption that the Corporations Act is to operate only territorially.
The difficulty with the orders sought for substituted service in this case is that r 10.49 requires that some attempt will have been made for service in accordance with the relevant Convention. It provides "if service was not successful on a person in a foreign country". The concept of a lack of success involves, at least, some attempt. This contrasts with the general provision in r 10.24 for substituted service which permits substituted service if "it is not practicable to serve a document on a person in a way required by these Rules" (emphasis added).
(1) Mr Owen resides at the Manhattan Beach Address;
(2) Mr Kibble resides at the West Palm Beach Address; and
(3) Mr Wasserman resides at the New York City Address,
such that there is a reasonable probability that, by leaving the Documents at those addresses, they will (as applicable) be brought to the attention of Messrs Owen, Kibble or Wasserman: see British American Tobacco Australasia Limited v Taleb (No 1) [2012] FCA 1065 [30], [34]; Rowe (by next friend Guscott) v Barton as Trustee for Barton Family Trust trading as Sealwerx WA [2021] FCA 196 [9], [11].
I certify that the preceding forty-six (46) numbered paragraphs are a true copy of the Reasons for Judgment of the Honourable Justice Markovic.
McCabe (liquidator), in the matter of Sargon Capital Pty Limited
D'Souza [2025] FCA 620