CORPORATIONS — application for approval of provisional liquidators’ remuneration — where provisional liquidators allege that work conducted is out of the ordinary and complex due to corporate structure — where plaintiffs oppose the remuneration amount sought — where plaintiffs allege the remuneration amount is not reasonable — where remuneration claimed is substantial — where remuneration claimed by provisional liquidators is reasonable and proportionate
Quick Take
1The onus is on the provisional liquidator to establish that remuneration claimed is reasonable, but the Court is not required to undertake a line-by-line review of time narratives; a broad review sufficing where the narratives support the other evidence led in respect of the claim.
2Proportionality — work done compared with the size of the property and the benefit obtained — is a central consideration in assessing reasonableness of remuneration, but on the facts the Court accepted that parallel accounting systems maintained by the provisional liquidators were justified by reporting obligations and confidentiality concerns despite apparent duplication with the company's own finance team.
3Dispensation from the requirement to notify creditors under r 9.3 of the Supreme Court (Corporations) Rules 1999 (NSW) is appropriate where all entities are solvent, there will be a substantial surplus for shareholders, and notice has been given to the ultimate shareholders.
