Re Vaughan, Ben Vaughan, Ben v Official Trustee in Bankruptcy [1996] FCA 416

Re Vaughan, Ben Vaughan, Ben v Official Trustee in Bankruptcy [1996] FCA 416

The wine collection is not a tool of trade because it is a consumable and not a permanent instrument of trade. The chainsaw is necessary household property as it is required to maintain essential household heating at the applicant's mother’s house. The trailer is property used primarily as a means of transport, being an extension of the applicant's small vehicle and used for necessary household and business purposes.

Parties
Applicant: Ben Vaughan; Respondent: Official Trustee in Bankruptcy
Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
10 May 1996
Procedural Posture
Bankruptcy Application / Final Determination at First Instance
Outcome
Partial grant
Legal Topics
Property Divisible Amongst Creditors, Tools of Trade, Necessary Household Property, Means of Transport
Bankruptcy Property Divisible Amongst Creditors Tools of Trade Necessary Household Property Means of Transport

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Parties

Ben Vaughan

Applicant

Official Trustee in Bankruptcy

Respondent

Procedural Posture

Bankruptcy Application / Final Determination at First Instance

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the wine collection is an ordinary tool of trade under s 116(2)(c) of the Bankruptcy Act 1966 (Cth)
  2. 2 Whether the chainsaw is necessary household property under s 116(2)(b)
  3. 3 Whether the trailer is property used primarily as a means of transport under s 116(2)(ca)

Ratio Decidendi

The wine collection is not a tool of trade because it is a consumable and not a permanent instrument of trade. The chainsaw is necessary household property as it is required to maintain essential household heating at the applicant's mother’s house. The trailer is property used primarily as a means of transport, being an extension of the applicant's small vehicle and used for necessary household and business purposes.

Court Disposition

Partial grant

Orders

  • Declare that the Stihl Farm Boss Chainsaw seized by the Official Trustee on 17 November 1994 together with carrying case, gloves, goggles, file and funnel and the steel box trailer former registration number BT6097 are not property divisible amongst creditors of the bankrupt within the meaning of s 116(1) of the...
  • The Official Trustee return to the bankrupt the chainsaw and associated items and the trailer.