Countryside (No.3) v Best/Lawson [2001] NSWSC 1152

New South Wales Supreme Court

CITATION : Countryside (No.3) v Best/Lawson [2001] NSWSC 1152 CURRENT JURISDICTION: Equity Division FILE NUMBER(S) : SC 2810/99; 2812/99; 2814/99 HEARING DATE(S) : 12-14 November 2001 JUDGMENT DATE : 14 December 2001

P - Countryside (No.3) Pty Limited v 1D - Michael John Harold Best 2D - Ian Elliott Savins

P - Countryside (No.3) Pty Limited v PARTIES : 1D - Geoffrey Marshall Lawson 2D - Jessie Fay Lawson 3D - Kenneth Ian Cockburn 4D - Kenneth George Buckley

P - Countryside (No.3) Pty Limited v 1D - Geoffrey Marshall Lawson 2D - Jessie Fay Lawson JUDGMENT OF : Davies AJ at 1

Countryside - Mr M B Evans COUNSEL : Best & Anor - Mr N G Rein SC, Mr S Loughnan Lawson & Ors - Mr T Robertson SC Countryside - Douglas Knaggs Solicitor SOLICITORS : Best & Anor - Minter Ellison, Lawyers Lawson & Ors - Walters, Solicitors CATCHWORDS : Corporations Act - directors' liability for insolvent trading - relevance of directors' belief that no debt incurred - whether the relevant obligation was a 'debt' - Trusts - whether beneficiaries of unit trust personally liable to indemnify the trustee - whether taking up of additional units in trust involved an obligation to indemnify for past debts. Corporations Act 2001, ss 589, 592 Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 LEGISLATION CITED : Companies (Qld) Code, s 556 Companies (NSW) Code, s 556 Workers Compensation Act 1987, s 151A Causley v Countryside (No.3) Pty Ltd (NSWCA, 2/9/96, unrep) Hardoon v Belilios [1901] AC 118 Balkin v Peck (1998) 43 NSWLR 706 J W Boomhead (Vic) Pty Ltd v J W Broomhead Pty Ltd [1985] VR 891 CASES CITED : TCN Channel Nine Pty Ltd v Scotney (1995) 17 ACSR 116 Standard Chartered Bank of Australia Ltd v Antico [No.s 1 and 2] (1995) 38 NSWLR 290 State of New South Wales v Taylor (2001) 75 ALJR 652 Hawkins v Bank of China (1992) 26 NSWLR 562 Shephard v ANZ Banking Corporation Ltd (1996) 41 NSWLR 431 DECISION : Applications dismissed with costs.