Fadley and Southwell

In *Fadley and Southwell*, Mr Fadley applied to the Supreme Court of Western Australia seeking to set aside a statutory demand issued by Southwell. The dispute concerned the validity of the statutory demand, which Mr Fadley alleged was based on a debt that was genuinely disputed on substantial grounds.

The primary legal issue before Johnston J was whether the debt underpinning the statutory demand was genuinely disputed on substantial grounds, as required by section 459H(1)(b) of the *Corporations Act 2001* (Cth). This involved determining if Mr Fadley had raised a triable issue concerning the existence or amount of the debt.

Johnston J considered the evidence presented by both parties regarding the alleged debt. His Honour found that Mr Fadley had not demonstrated that the debt was genuinely disputed on substantial grounds. The material before the court did not establish a sufficient basis for a genuine dispute that would warrant setting aside the statutory demand.

Consequently, Johnston J ordered that Mr Fadley's application to set aside the statutory demand be dismissed.