W M Scollay & Co Ltd (In Liquidation) v South Pacific Energy Trading Pty Ltd (In Liquidation) [1996] FCA 585

Procedural Posture

Corporations Winding Up Application for Inspection of Books by Creditor / Application Under Ss 486 and 511 of the Corporations Law

Legal Issues

1. 1 ["Whether inspection of the respondent company's books should be subject to a condition restricting disclosure of inspected documents to the applicant's officers or former officers until public examinations are concluded or consent is given." "Whether inspection should be subject to a condition requiring the applicant's liquidators to agree to reciprocal access by the respondent and its advisers to the applicant's documents." 'What costs of inspection should be borne by the applicant.']

Ratio Decidendi

Because inspection was not disputed and the respondents provided no evidence justifying a confidentiality restriction to preserve forensic advantage, and because the applicant's statutory right of inspection should not be made conditional on giving the respondent a reciprocal right apparently unavailable under New Zealand law, the application for inspection should be allowed without those proposed conditions. The applicant should, however, pay the respondent liquidator's reasonable inspection-related expenses, remuneration and legal costs.

Court Disposition

Application allowed.

Orders

• ['Application is allowed.' "Applicant's solicitors to bring into court minutes of proposed draft orders which will include a schedule of the categories of documents sought to be inspected." "Applicant should pay the liquidator's out-of-pocket expenses for photocopying and the like, for time spent by the liquidator...