Australian Leaders Fund Ltd v Equity Trustees Ltd, in the matter of Australian Leaders Fund Ltd

In the case of Australian Leaders Fund Ltd v Equity Trustees Ltd, in the matter of Australian Leaders Fund Ltd, the Federal Court of Australia was asked to order the convening of a meeting of shareholders of Australian Leaders Fund Limited (ALF) for the purpose of considering and, if thought fit, agreeing to a scheme of arrangement between ALF and its shareholders. The scheme involved the cancellation of shares held by the scheme company's creditors. The legal issues before the court included the application of certain regulations to the scheme meeting and whether the creditors would be prejudiced by the adoption of the scheme.

The court found that due to the identified lacuna in the regulations and the fact that the scheme would not take effect without a further order of the court approving the scheme, it was appropriate to order that Rule 2.15 of the Federal Court (Corporations) Rules 2000 would not apply to the scheme meeting. The court cited several authorities to support its decision, finding that it had become common to dispense with compliance with Rule 2.15 on the basis that it is unnecessary. The court was satisfied that creditors were not likely to be prejudiced by the adoption of the scheme.

The court made orders convening the scheme meeting, specifying the time, date, and chairperson for the meeting, and directing the manner in which the scheme booklet and other documents would be dispatched to shareholders. The court also ordered that Rule 2.15 of the Federal Court (Corporations) Rules 2000 would not apply to the scheme meeting and that the proceeding be stood over for the hearing of any application to approve the scheme.