A statement that private companies owned and controlled by an individual cannot pay their debts is reasonably capable of supporting an adverse inference as to the personal financial reputation of the owner/controller, contrary to the broad proposition in Aspro Travel that a company's insolvency does not reflect on its directors. A Polly Peck imputation must clearly identify the precise act or condition attributed to the plaintiff; failure to do so will result in refusal of leave to amend. The question whether the Hore-Lacy test is the correct test for permissible Polly Peck pleas in Western Australia remains open.
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