Australian Securities and Investments Commission v Piggott Wood and Baker (a firm)

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) brought proceedings against Piggott Wood and Baker (a firm), a law firm that had managed an unregistered managed investment scheme. The liquidator of the firm applied for approval to settle ongoing litigation in the Supreme Court of Tasmania. The court was required to determine whether the liquidator's proposed settlement was in the best interests of the creditors and whether it complied with the relevant legal principles. The court also considered whether non-publication orders should be made in relation to the liquidator's affidavit and annexures. The court found that the liquidator's proposal was reasonable and in the best interests of the creditors, and that there was no need for non-publication orders. The court granted the liquidator's application for approval to settle the litigation and denied the application for non-publication orders. The court emphasised that the liquidator's proposal should not be "rubber stamped" and that the court's role was to review the proposal and ensure that there was no error of law or ground for suspecting bad faith or impropriety. The court also noted that the publicity surrounding the collapse of the firm's mortgage scheme was extensive and that the solicitors' trust had already made significant payments to the investors. The court ordered that the liquidator's costs of and incidental to the application be paid out of the assets of the firm.