Ample Skill Limited, a Company Incorporated in the British Virgin Islands, Company Number 1544626) v Geoffrey Reidy as Joint and Several Liquidator of Balamara Resources Limited (in Liquidation)

The Court held that a creditor and contributory of a company in liquidation does not have a legitimate interest under s 486 of the Corporations Act in obtaining copies of the company's books where the sole purpose is to provide those documents to a third party (here, the applicant's sole shareholder and director) for use in that third party's own arbitral proceedings. The doctrine of separate corporate personality prevents the shareholder's personal interest in the documents from being attributed to the corporate applicant, even where the shareholder is the sole shareholder and director. The Court noted the absence of injustice given the availability of alternative mechanisms (subpoena via the arbitral panel) for the shareholder to obtain the documents directly.