A Pty Ltd as trustee for the Storrer Family Trust and Anor and N Pty Ltd Ors (No 2)

In the matter of A Pty Ltd as trustee for the Storrer Family Trust and Anor and N Pty Ltd Ors (No 2), Hogan J of the Supreme Court of Victoria considered an application by the applicants, A Pty Ltd as trustee for the Storrer Family Trust and another party, seeking orders in relation to previous orders made by the Court. The respondents included N Pty Ltd and other parties. The dispute concerned the stay of certain orders pending the determination of an appeal.

The primary legal issue before the Court was whether to grant a stay of specific orders made on 18 February 2020, as amended on 12 March 2020, pending the outcome of Appeal NOA20/2020. This included a request to discharge an earlier order made on 21 February 2020. The Court was also required to determine the conditions, if any, under which such a stay should be granted, particularly concerning the payment of dividends.

Hogan J ordered that Order 2 of the 21 February 2020 orders be discharged. Furthermore, by consent, Orders 4, 6, 7, 8, 10, 13, 14, 15, and 16 of the 18 February 2020 orders, as amended, were stayed pending the determination of the appeal. Crucially, Order 5 of the 18 February 2020 orders, as amended, was also stayed pending the appeal, but subject to specific conditions. These conditions mandated that the First Respondent pay the First Applicant all unpaid fully franked dividends for the financial year ended 30 June 2020, both for dividends already declared and for future dividends, with payments to be made to the First Applicant's solicitors' trust account. The conditions also stipulated that no amount could be paid out of the trust account unless the total paid did not exceed $1,585,300.00 and both the Second Applicant and Ms Storrer provided written authority for any payment. Finally, Order 17 of the 18 February 2020 orders, as amended, was also stayed pending the appeal.