O'HALLORAN v THOMAS & FAMILY PTY LTD SUPREME COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES — COURT OF APPEAL HANDLEY JA 21 October 1996 [1996] NSWCA 408 Handley JA. In this matter Miss McColl SC moves on behalf of the appellant, James Francis O' Halloran, for a stay of execution on the judgment entered by Mr Justice Giles in the Commercial Division against her client for $789,750 including pre-judgment interest. The notice of appeal was filed within time but did not include grounds of appeal directed to the judgment entered in favour of R T Thomas & Family Pty Ltd. The notice of motion for a stay was not taken out until 24 September 1996 and has come on for hearing today for the first time. Because of the appellant's delays since the entry of judgment against him, the judgment creditor was able to obtain and serve a bankruptcy notice. The time for compliance with that notice expired without the appellant taking any effective steps to avoid committing an act of bankruptcy. A bankruptcy petition seeking a sequestration order against the estate of the appellant is listed before the Federal Court on Friday 25 October. The making of the sequestration order is opposed and I was informed that there were no supporting or opposing creditors. It was not in dispute that any stay of proceedings granted by this Court would not be binding on the Federal Court which could, notwithstanding such a stay, proceed if it saw fit to make a sequestration order against the appellant. On the other hand it was also accepted that the existence of a stay granted by this Court would be a relevant factor in the exercise by the Federal Court of its discretion and, accordingly, there would be utility in this Court considering whether or not a stay should be granted. The matter had proceeded some considerable distance before me before Mr Angyal, who appeared for the judgment creditor, received instructions to explore the prospects of obtaining satisfactory security from the claimant over assets disclosed by him in the form of proved claims in the bankrupt estates of Gerry Lindfield and George Constantine and a debt owed to him by JID & LC Nominees Pty Ltd said to be the trustee of his family trust. In the light of those instructions it seemed to me to be in the interests of this Court and the parties that I should adjourn the matter to enable the prospects of obtaining security over those assets to be explored. I thereforeorder, by consent, that the further hearing of this notice of motion be stood over to 4 November 1996 at 9.30 am for mention. In the meantime I stay execution on the judgment entered in favour of the opponent, R T Thomas & Family Pty Ltd, until further order. I make the order in that form not in order to indicate any view on the claimant's prospects of retaining such an order should the matter proceed to a hearing before me but in order to avoid the necessity for reframing the stay order should the matter have to be adjourned again. 2 UNREPORTED JUDGMENTS I reserve the costs of today's hearing. Orders accordingly.