Gunns Reloaded: High Court grants special leave

Articles Written by Pravin Aathreya (Partner), Ben Bishop (Senior Associate)
A sun setting over the city.

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.

Important Disclaimer: The material contained in this article is comment of a general nature only and is not and nor is it intended to be advice on any specific professional matter. In that the effectiveness or accuracy of any professional advice depends upon the particular circumstances of each case, neither the firm nor any individual author accepts any responsibility whatsoever for any acts or omissions resulting from reliance upon the content of any articles. Before acting on the basis of any material contained in this publication, we recommend that you consult your professional adviser. Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation (Australia-wide except in Tasmania).

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