Bank of Western Australia Limited v Salmon

The matter before the Court involved the Bank of Western Australia Limited as the applicant and Owen Salmon as the respondent. The dispute centred around the application for a sequestration order against Mr Salmon's estate due to his inability to pay debts as they fell due, constituting an act of bankruptcy under the Bankruptcy Act 1966 (Cth). The application was made following the Registrar’s refusal to grant the order on 24 July 2009.

The primary legal issue the Court needed to resolve was whether the evidence presented by the applicant sufficiently established that Mr Salmon was bankrupt. The applicant had to demonstrate that Mr Salmon had committed an act of bankruptcy, as defined in the Act, and that there were no sufficient grounds to refuse the sequestration order. The respondent contested the application, arguing that he had not committed the alleged act of bankruptcy or that there were other reasons to refuse the sequestration.

The Court, after reviewing the evidence, determined that the applicant had met the required threshold to establish the act of bankruptcy. The Court found that Mr Salmon had indeed committed the act of bankruptcy on 19 May 2009. The Court was satisfied that there were no valid reasons to refuse the sequestration order. Consequently, the Court set aside the earlier orders and made a sequestration order against Mr Salmon's estate. Additionally, the Court ordered that the applicant’s costs, including any reserved costs, be taxed and paid according to the Bankruptcy Act. The Court also acknowledged that Scott Darren Pascoe had consented to act as trustee on 26 May 2009.