David v Cohen

In *David v Cohen*, heard before Judge Baird, the dispute concerned the validity of service of a bankruptcy notice. The applicant sought to set aside the notice, arguing it had not been properly served on him.

The central legal issue before the Court was the interpretation of "last known address" for the purposes of serving a bankruptcy notice under the *Bankruptcy Act 1966* (Cth) and its associated regulations. Specifically, the Court had to determine whether "last known address" referred to an address communicated by the debtor to the creditor, or an address generally available to the public, and the significance of the phrase "in the absence of proof to the contrary" within regulation 16.01(1) of the *Bankruptcy Regulations 1996* (Cth).

Judge Baird reasoned that the phrase "last known address" in the context of bankruptcy notices requires an address that the debtor has communicated to the creditor as their address for receiving correspondence. The Court found that the debtor's previous residential address, which was no longer current, did not constitute their "last known address" for the purpose of service, as it had not been communicated to the creditor as such. The Court further held that the presumption of valid service, which arises in the absence of proof to the contrary, could be rebutted by evidence demonstrating that the address used was not, in fact, the debtor's last known address communicated to the creditor.

The Court ordered that the bankruptcy notice be set aside.