High Court of Australia
HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA
KIEFEL CJ,
GAGELER, GORDON, EDELMAN AND STEWARD JJ
METAL MANUFACTURES PTY LIMITED APPELLANT
AND
GAVIN MORTON AS LIQUIDATOR OF
MJ WOODMAN ELECTRICAL CONTRACTORS
PTY LTD (IN LIQUIDATION) & ANOR RESPONDENTS
Metal Manufactures Pty Limited v Morton
[2023] HCA 1
Date of Hearing: 12 October 2022
Date of Judgment: 8 February 2023
B19/2022
ORDER
1. Appeal dismissed.
2. The costs of this appeal be costs in the cause.
On appeal from the Federal Court of Australia
Representation
J T Gleeson SC with G P McNally SC and J W Pokoney for the appellant (instructed by Breene & Breene Solicitors)
J D McKenna KC with P E O'Brien for the respondents (instructed by Taylor David Lawyers)
Notice: This copy of the Court's Reasons for Judgment is subject to formal revision prior to publication in the Commonwealth Law Reports.
CATCHWORDS
Metal Manufactures Pty Limited v Morton
Corporations – Winding up – Insolvency – Set-off – Unfair preferences – Where appellant received payments from company within six-month period prior to winding up – Where liquidator of company sought to recover payments from appellant under s 588FF(1)(a) of Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) ("Act") as unfair preferences under s 588FA of Act – Where appellant owed separate and distinct debt by company – Whether set-off under s 553C(1) of Act available to appellant against liquidator's claim for recovery of unfair preferences.
Words and phrases – "commencement of the winding up", "contingent right", "insolvency", "insolvent transaction", "liquidation", "liquidator's duties and powers", "mutual dealing", "mutuality", "pari passu principle", "set-off", "statutory scheme of liquidation", "unfair preference", "voidable transaction", "winding up".
Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), ss 474, 477, 478, 553, 553C, 555, 556, 588FA, 588FC, 588FE, 588FF, 588FI.
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