The Court ordered costs against the defendants who had issued and then withdrawn a defective creditor's statutory demand under s 459H of the Corporations Act. The Court held that the withdrawal amounted to a capitulation rather than a compromise, and that the defendants acted unreasonably in issuing the demand given its non-compliance with Form 509H and the improper form of the supporting affidavit (including purported affirmation by a corporate entity). The Court rejected the proposition that a self-represented overseas party's unfamiliarity with Australian procedural requirements reduced the obligation to comply with statutory demand procedures or shielded them from an adverse costs order.
The full text is available to signed-in members.