Fingal Glen Pty Ltd v Riviera Holdings Pty Ltd

Fingal Glen Pty Ltd initiated proceedings in the Supreme Court of South Australia seeking to set aside a statutory demand issued by Riviera Holdings Pty Ltd. The demand sought the payment of $141,426.66, which Riviera claimed was due for unpaid rent and outgoings under leases held by Fingal. Fingal argued that the statutory demand should be set aside on the grounds of genuine disputes and mutual assumptions between the parties. The primary legal issues before the court were whether Fingal had satisfied the jurisdictional prerequisites under s 459G of the Corporations Act 2001 and whether there were any genuine disputes that warranted setting aside the statutory demand.

The court found that Fingal had not satisfied the jurisdictional prerequisites as required by s 459G(3). Fingal had failed to serve a supporting affidavit within the 21-day period, and the affidavit served did not depose to any admissible evidence of a ground to set aside the demand. Additionally, Fingal's reliance on an affidavit from another action was not permissible without explicit permission from the Court. The court held that the affidavit in support did not contain any admissible evidence of a ground to set aside the demand, and therefore, the action was dismissed. The court also ruled that a payment made by Fingal into Court was not proper and ordered the funds to be refunded to Riviera.