Commercial Disputes eBulletin - 11 May 2012
The High Court has ruled that seven former James Hardie directors and the company's general counsel breached the Corporations Act 2001, following the release of a misleading statement to the ASX about the company's asbestos compensation fund.  The finding has highlighted a trend towards higher standards of accountability for company directors and officers, and confirmed that company secretaries and general counsel also have a high degree of responsibility for board decisions. Read full article...

Insolvency eBulletin - 29 March 2012
A number of problems with the Personal Property Securities Register have come to light, resulting in the need for lenders, security holders and practitioners to be on high alert and extra diligent when performing searches for existing charges and in protecting existing security interests over personal property. Read full article...

Insolvency eBulletin - 22 February 2012
The new personal property securities register went live on 30 January 2012 and will eventually provide a definitive list of all security interest in the personal property of an individual or corporation. However, a party with security interest should be aware that many of the associated transitional arrangements will have a significant impact on the priority of interests, particularly over the next two years. Read full article...

Commercial Disputes eBulletin - 13 February 2012
A recent Federal Court of Australia decision has highlighted the need for principal solicitors to ensure those assisting them understand and comply fully with any undertakings given to the court lest all involved be found in contempt of court. In this eBulletin we review this case and look at what the decision means for in-house counsel. Read full article...

Insolvency eBulletin - 16 January 2012
In December 2011, the Commonwealth government released a Proposals Paper titled "A modernisation and harmonisation of the regulatory framework applying to insolvency practitioners in Australia". The Proposals Paper sets out a large number of proposed reforms to the insolvency industry – some of which, if adopted, will entail significant changes to the industry. Read full article...

Insolvency eBulletin - 10 January 2012
A recent Supreme Court of Victoria decision provides important information concerning the factors which an administrator should consider in relation to a request by an owner or lessor to regain possession of property in the possession of, or used or occupied by a company in administration.  In this eBulletin, we have briefly summarised the decision and the key points most likely to be of interest to insolvency professionals. Read full article...

Commercial Disputes eBulletin - 17 October 2011
Marking-up documents during negotiations may not be sufficient notice of changes made to commercial documents. Courts may set aside a critical term which has not been brought to a party's attention. Read full article...

Insurance eBulletin -17 August 2011
New pre-litigation obligations applicable to certain federal civil proceedings have been introduced by the Civil Dispute Resolution Act 2011 (Cth).  In this eBulletin, we look at these obligations, what constitutes "genuine steps" and the relevance of this to insurers and insureds. Read full article...

Commercial Disputes eBulletin - 17 June 2011
The Supreme Court of Victoria recently ruled that de-facto directors do not have the power to pass a resolution under theCorporations Act 2001 (Cth) appointing an administrator. Read full article...

Commercial Disputes eBulletin - 17 June 2011
The NSW Court of Appeal recently upheld a ruling that, although Apple and one of its finance directors were accustomed to having Apple's reseller, Buzzle, comply with their instructions, neither was a 'shadow director' of Buzzle for the purposes of the Corporations Law (as it then was). Read full article...