Mid last year Justice Chivell of the South Australian District Court was asked to determine a preliminary question in advance of the trial of an unfair preference claim brought by a liquidator, Mr Matthews, against the defendant, The Tap Inn Pty Limited (see Matthews v The Tap Inn Pty Ltd [2015] SADC 108). 

Time and time again we come across a reminder of what can go wrong with a badly drafted agreement.  Best case scenario, the supplier does not need to refer to the contract, worst case, it costs millions.

How are shareholders treated where a shareholder makes claims against a company in administration?  Does an administrator have to give that shareholder notice of creditors’ meetings? Can the same shareholder vote at creditors’ meetings? 

A businessman learns that one of his competitors is about to cease trading and wants to sell its business assets.  After meeting with the competitor and confirming that the assets are in good order, an agreement is reached and the assets are sold.  Then, years later, a person the businessman has never met turns up wanting to know where all his business assets have gone.  How could this happen!?