Companies — Winding up — Disclaimer of property — Vesting of disclaimed property in Crown — Application to vest property disclaimed by a liquidator in holder of perfected security interest — Recovery of possession of property in hands of third parties — Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), ss 420, 471B, 568D, 568F — Personal Properties Securities Act 2009 (Cth), s 123

Equity — Receivers — Appointment by Court — Grounds for appointment — Powers of receiver — Application by liquidators for appointment over Company’s own property — Whether receiver should give security — Supreme Court Act 1986 (Vic), s 37 — Supreme Court (General Civil Procedure) Rules 2015, r 39.05

Criminal Law — Application for leave to appeal against sentence — Death of applicant prior to hearing of application — Appropriate disposition

Wills and estates — Probate — Executor by representation — Letters of administration with will attached — Whether executors required to renounce probate to obtain letters of administration with will annexed of the deceased’s estate — Effect of renunciation on a person’s entitlement to apply for grant in another capacity — Chain of representation — Administration and Probate Act 1958 (Vic), ss 16 and 17

Real property — Strata title — Owners corporation — Alteration of lot entitlement and lot liability in plan of subdivision — Whether application by owners corporation to VCAT was for an order against itself — Whether power to alter lot entitlement and lot liability in the absence of unanimous resolution without also making order consenting on behalf of each member who did not vote in favour of the resolution — Criteria for the exercise of power of VCAT to make ‘any orders it thinks fit’ — Matters to be taken into account when considering whether proposed alteration to lot liability was ‘just and equitable’ — Subdivision Act 1988 (Vic), ss 33, 34D

Words and phrases — ‘any orders it thinks fit’ — ‘just and equitable’

Employer and employee — Long service leave — Statutory interpretation — Employment commenced in India and continued in Victoria — Whether employees’ service in India included in ‘7 years of continuous employment’ for purposes of entitlement to Victorian long service leave — Long Service Leave Act 2018 (Vic), ss 6, 9, 11, 12, 18, 19 — Interpretation of Legislation Act 1984 (Vic), s 48(b)

Statutory interpretation — Extra-territorial operation of Act — Connection with Victoria — Long service — Service within and outside State — Whether employees’ service outside Victoria included in ‘7 years of continuous employment’ for purposes of entitlement to Victorian long service leave — Long Service Leave Act 2018 (Vic), ss 6, 9, 11, 12, 18, 19 — Interpretation of Legislation Act 1984 (Vic), s 48(b)

Words and phrases — ‘continuous employment’

Real property — Competing interests — Mortgagee — Tenant in possession — Tenancy granted by registered proprietor after mortgage and without consent of mortgagee — Whether Residential Tenancies Act 1997 (Vic) applies to tenancy — Whether mortgagee entitled to orders for possession and ejection — Transfer of Land Act 1958 (Vic), ss 78, 87C — Residential Tenancies Act 1997 (Vic), ss 216, 223, 268

Contract — Statutory contract — Construction — Standing — Strangers to contract — Union and superannuation scheme member sought declaratory relief concerning constitution of corporate trustee — Whether such parties had sufficient interest in declaratory relief — Whether post-contractual conduct admissible — Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), s 140

Trusts and trustees — Judicial advice — Public offer superannuation fund — Corporate trustee — Corporate constitution — Interpretation — Standing — Union and superannuation scheme member, not party to contract, sought declaratory relief concerning constitution of corporate trustee — Whether administrative proceeding in respect of trust — Whether proper matter for judicial advice — Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993, ss 89, 91(3) — Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), s 140 — Supreme Court (General Civil Procedure) Rules 2015 (Vic), r 54.02

Trusts and trustees — Discretionary trust — Request by discretionary object of trust to inspect trust documents — No vested proprietary interest — Court’s discretion to permit inspection in its inherent supervisory jurisdiction — Factors to be considered

Arbitration — Award — Challenge — Costs — Appropriate test to be applied for unmeritorious challenges to arbitral awards — Whether indemnity costs should be the default order in unsuccessful challenges to arbitral awards — Whether a different approach should be adopted by reason of the objects of the Commercial Arbitration Act 2011 (Vic) or the International Arbitration Act 1974 (Cth) — UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration, art 34(2) — Commercial Arbitration Act 2011 (Vic), ss 1AA, 1AC, 34 — International Arbitration Act 1974 (Cth), ss 2D, 16

Costs — Arbitration — Challenge to award — Jurisdiction to award indemnity costs — Principles to be applied with respect to unmeritorious claims — Commercial Arbitration Act 2011 (Vic).

Mortgages — Forgery — Forged mortgage registered under Transfer of Land Act 1958 (Vic) — Duty of mortgagee to take reasonable steps to verify authority and identity of mortgagor — Reliance by mortgagee on deficient solicitor’s certificate and incomplete identification documentation — Whether reasonable steps taken — Whether mortgage void — Transfer of Land Act 1958 (Vic), s 87A

Real property — Mortgage — Enforcement — Covenant in registered mortgage by mortgagor to pay principal sum in manner and times specified — Memorandum of Common Provisions incorporated — Whether nothing secured because no funds advanced to mortgagor

Real property — Registered instrument — Loss — Indemnity — Whether mortgagee entitled to indemnity from Registrar of Titles — Transfer of Land Act 1958 (Vic), s 110

Administrative law — Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal — Domestic building dispute — First proceeding resolved by terms of settlement — Mutual release — Owners commenced second proceeding against builder for defective work — Tribunal found claimed defects not covered by release — Construction of release — Whether Tribunal failed to consider whether owners ought reasonably to have known of claimed defects when terms of settlement signed — Domestic Building Contracts Act 1995 (Vic), ss 8, 10 — Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 1998 (Vic), ss 117, 148

Contract — Mutual Releases — Interpretation — Settlement of proceeding — Subsequent claim — Whether second claim within scope of release

Criminal law — Search warrants — Seized documents — Relevance — Documents claimed to be irrelevant to investigation — Procedure for inspection and seizure of documents — Whether investigating officer able to inspect documents to form view on relevance — Privacy — Independent Broad-Based Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2011 (Vic), s 91 — Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006 (Vic), ss 7, 13, 32, 38

Practice and procedure — Injunction — Undertaking given to court in lieu of interlocutory injunction — Application to vary or discharge undertaking — Circumstances in which court may vary or discharge undertaking

Companies — Winding up — Insolvent Trading — Principles for determining insolvency — Indicators of insolvency — Deemed insolvency where company fails to keep or retain financial records — Evidentiary status of company’s books — Transactions entered into after company became insolvent — Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), ss 95A,286,588E,588G,588H,588M,1305,1306

Companies — Winding up — Insolvent Trading — Incurring debt — Goods supplied on ‘sale or return’ basis — Whether company had ‘unavoidable obligation’ to pay so as to constitute a debt — Whether director was not taking part in management of company due to illness — Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), ss 95A,286,588E,588G,588H,588M

Companies — Winding up — Insolvent transaction — Unfair preference — Voidable transaction — Payments by company to director after company became insolvent — Payments partially discharged loans from director to company — Whether director received a ‘preference, priority or advantage’ over company’s other creditors — Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), ss 588FA,588FC,588FE,588FF

Companies — Winding up — Insolvency — Statutory demand — Application to set aside demand — Whether genuine dispute about existence or amount of debt — Affidavit filed in support of application — ‘Graywinter principle’ — Whether affidavit capable of ‘supporting’ application — Whether affidavit identified expressly, or by necessary or reasonably available inference, basis for setting aside demand — Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), ss 459G, 459H

Arbitration — Arbitration agreement — Agreement in writing — Whether arbitration agreement specified ‘in writing’ which disputes to be arbitrated — Where arbitration agreement provided clear mechanism for precise identification of disputes — Commercial Arbitration Act 2011 (Vic), ss 1(3)(b), 4, 7, 35, 36

Arbitration — Award — Reasons — Whether arbitrators failed to give reasons for arbitral award — Commercial Arbitration Act 2011 (Vic), s 31

Criminal law — Double jeopardy — Motor vehicle offences — Recklessly exposing emergency worker to risk by driving — Damaging emergency services vehicle — Recklessly causing injury — Accused driving vehicle at police car, striking police officer — Whether conduct a single, inseparable act — Crimes Act 1958 (Vic), ss 18, 317AE — Interpretation of Legislation Act 1984 (Vic), s 51(1)

Constitutional Law — Commonwealth — Judicial power of the Commonwealth — State civil and administrative tribunal — Whether matter within federal jurisdiction — Contract entered into between foreign state and builder — Contract concerning consular residence for Consul General — Dispute in relation to moneys outstanding under the contract, delays and defective work — Proceedings issued in VCAT — Whether VCAT had authority to hear and determine dispute — Whether matter ‘affecting consuls’ — Vienna Convention on Consular Relations (1963) — Commonwealth Constitution, s 75(ii)

Words and phrases — ‘affecting consuls’ — ‘consular premises’

Criminal Law — Interlocutory appeal — Review of refusal to certify — Decision concerned admissibility of evidence — Whether trial judge permitted to refuse certification where decision ‘not attended by sufficient doubt’ — No separate question concerning ‘sufficient doubt’ — Criminal Procedure Act 2009 (Vic), s 295(3)

Criminal Law — Interlocutory appeal — Evidence — Hearsay — Admissions — Third-party conversations — Co-conspirators rule — Statements made by third party in absence of accused — Requirement for ‘reasonable evidence’ of accused’s participation in criminal enterprise — Evidence Act 2008 (Vic), s 87(1)(c)

Companies — Winding up — Disclaimer of onerous property — Contaminated land — Application to set aside disclaimer — Liquidators indemnified against environmental liabilities — Environmental Protection Authority and State claim to have interests in land — Whether setting aside disclaimer would cause prejudice grossly out of proportion to prejudice to creditors — Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), s 568B

Planning and environment — Environment protection — Abatement of pollution — Clean up of waste on land — Recovery of reasonable costs incurred by Environment Protection Authority in conducting clean up — Whether liquidators were ‘the occupier of the premises’ — Environment Protection Act 1970 (Vic), ss 4, 62

Constitutional law — Commonwealth — Inconsistency between Commonwealth and State laws — State law imposed liability on ‘occupier of the premises’ — Commonwealth law limited liability of liquidators to incur expenses in relation to winding up of company — Whether recovery of clean up costs made liquidators ‘liable to incur any expense’ — Whether inconsistency — Commonwealth Constitution, s 109 — Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), s 545 — Environment Protection Act 1970 (Vic), s 62

Words and Phrases — ‘occupier’ — ‘control’ — ‘liable’ — ‘incur’

Criminal Law — Appeal — Conviction — Whether convictions unreasonable or unable to be supported by evidence — Conspiracy to import a commercial quantity of a border controlled drug — Whether proven beyond reasonable doubt that applicants knew substance being imported was the particular border controlled drug — Whether open to jury to reasonably exclude alternative hypothesis consistent with innocence — Criminal Code (Cth), ss 11.5(1), 307.1(1)

Criminal Law — Appeal — Conviction — Miscarriage of justice — Error in address and in summing up — Whether causative of injustice

Criminal Law — Appeal — Sentence — Manifest excess — Whether relevant sentencing comparators illustrative of error in sentencing exercise — Role of current sentencing practices in sentencing exercise — Principle of parity