Gunns Reloaded: High Court grants special leave

The Full Court of the High Court (Keane and Gleeson JJ) has today granted Daniel Bryant and Craig Crosbie of PwC, in their capacity as the Liquidators of the Gunns Group, special leave to appeal the decision of the Full Federal Court in Badenoch Integrated Logging Pty Ltd v Bryant [2021] FCAFC 64 on all grounds argued.  

Accordingly, the High Court will soon consider and decide:

1. whether the 'peak indebtedness’ rule was abolished by the introduction of s 588FA of the Corporations Act; and
2. whether the test to apply in determining whether a continuing business relationship has ceased is the ‘predominant’ purpose test as articulated by Justice Santow in Sutherland v Eurolinx  (2001) 37 ACSR 477 or something else.

Judgment on these issues should provide liquidators and creditors with much needed certainty as to the operation of this area of law.

JWS act for the Liquidators.  Jonathan Evans QC and Ben Gibson are instructed as counsel.

Please click the following links to see our previous articles on the insolvency trial, the trial, the appeal, and the special leave application.