Litigation and Risk Management

Individuals - The renegotiation of an “unfair” joint venture contract regarding an $80 million land development.

Shareholders - An oppression/misleading and deceptive conduct claim by a group of investors in a stapled vehicle for breaches of the constitutions, which resulted in investors getting a much more favourable offer for their securities. 

Financiers - The successful recovery of in excess of $26 million pursuant to guarantees given collateral to the primary security for an offshore loan, including commencing proceedings against individual guarantors and placing corporate guarantors into receivership. 

Fund managers

• Providing advice regarding aspects of a major restructuring, including related party transaction provisions, the responsible entity’s equitable duties and the requirements for amending the constitutions of the trusts to be restructured.
   
• Advised on the hostile takeover of one fund manager by another, including successfully bringing proceedings in the Victorian Supreme Court for declarations regarding a meeting of investors to replace the existing responsible entity.
   
• Successfully represented funds management clients in hearings before the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.
   
• Resisted an application by ASIC for appointment of a receiver to a responsible entity and the schemes managed by it.
   
• Represented a scheme manager in bringing proceedings in the Federal Court against the Australian Taxation Office to extract a product ruling for an agribusiness project.
   
• Protected the position of responsible entities in the winding up of schemes where action was threatened by investors and contractors.
   
• Obtained urgent injunctions in the South Australian Supreme Court protecting scheme property where a dispute arose between the responsible entity and the operator of a strata titled scheme.

Trustees

• Acted for the trustee of a number of schemes in a dispute with the manager of those schemes regarding unpaid fees and breach of duty on the part of the manager.
   
• Brought proceedings in the NSW Supreme Court for breach of trust against an exiting responsible entity on behalf of the new responsible entity of a commercial property fund, which resulted in the breach of trust being remedied.  

Directors - Represented companies and their directors in class actions brought by disgruntled investors and succeeded in having the action dismissed.