Spurbest v North Sydney College [2005] NSWSC 449

New South Wales Supreme Court

CITATION : Spurbest v North Sydney College [2005] NSWSC 449

HEARING DATE(S) : 2 May 2005

JUDGMENT DATE : 2 May 2005

JURISDICTION : Equity

JUDGMENT OF : Campbell J

DECISION : Company wound up. Advertising dispensed with.

CATCHWORDS : CORPORATIONS - winding up - sole director and shareholder abandons company - winding up on just and equitable ground appropriate - dispensing with advertising appropriate

LEGISLATION CITED : Corporations Act 2001 (Cth)

Spurbest Pty Limited - Plaintiff PARTIES : North Sydney College Pty Limited - Defendant

FILE NUMBER(S) : SC 2590/05

S Mullette, Solicitor - Plaintiff COUNSEL : No Appearance - Defendant

The Argyle Partnership - Plaintiff SOLICITORS : No Appearance - Defendant

LOWER COURT JURISDICTION :

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES EQUITY DIVISION CORPORATIONS LIST

CAMPBELL J

MONDAY 2 MAY 2005

2590/05 SPURBEST PTY LIMITED v NORTH SYDNEY COLLEGE PTY LTD JUDGMENT – Ex Tempore 1 HIS HONOUR: This is an application to wind up a company. The company conducts business as a provider of English courses to foreign students. It operates from leased premises in Chatswood. The petitioning creditor is the landlord of those premises, and is owed a little over $90,000 in rent. On 14 April 2005 it sent a statutory demand to the company. That has not produced any response. 2 The 21-day time period for complying with that statutory demand has not yet expired. Notwithstanding that, the application is made today to wind up the company, on the just and equitable ground. 3 The company has only one director, namely Mr Charles Cho, who is also the sole shareholder. Mr Cho had formerly resided in Australia but at the start of March 2004 he left Australia and travelled to Korea. He told Ms Kim, an administration manager employed by the company, that he was going back to Korea for his business, and for treatment of an illness. He managed the company by remote control from Korea for a period of time, but on 19 April 2005 sent an email to "admin@northsydneycollege.com" entitled "Letter of Resignation" saying: "Since I have very serious health problem I cannot continue my duty as director at North Sydney English College. Also, I can not continue financial support to the college. Therefore I am going to resign my post as director from today."