Hedrlin, Joseph v The Proprietors of Strata Plan No. 3670

Case [1983] FCA 287


I N TIIE

FEDERAL

COURT

) )

O F AUSTRFLLIA

)

1

NEW SOUTH WALES

1

1

l

DISTRICT

REGISTRY

1

1

GENERAL DIVISION

)

N o .

G137 of 1 9 6 3

BETWEEN

JOSEPH

HEDRLIN

A p p l i c a n t

__

AND

THE PROPRIETORS OF STRATA PLAN

No.

3 6 7 0

R e s p o n d e n t

BETWEEN

JOSEPH HED-WIN

A p p l i c a n t

_.

AND

TIIE PROPRIETORS - STW,TA

PLAN

No.

3 6 7 0

F i r s t R e s p o n d e n t

__

AND

MAX CHRISTOPHER DONNELLY

Second

R e s p o n d e n t

ORDERS

Judge

maklng

orders:

B c a u m o n t ,

J.

D a t e orders made:

27 September, 1983.

Where made:

Sydney.

- 2 -

THE COURT ORDERS THAT:

In matter No. W448 of 1983:

1.

The

appllcatlon

disnussed.

be

2.

The

applicant pay the

costs of the

flrst

respondent

including reserved costs.

3.

The

a2pllcant pay the

costs of the

second

respondent

on a submitting

basis.

In matter No. G137 of 1983:

1.

The

application

dlsmlssed.

be

2.

The applicant pay the

costs of the

respondents

includlng

reserved costs.

i

i

I

i

i

!

I N THE

F E D E P X

COURT

1 1

OF AUSTRALIA

1 1

NEW SOUTH WALES

1 1

DISTRICT

REGISTRY

)

1

GENERAL DIVISiON

1

N o .

G .

1 3 7 of

1983

BETWEEN

JOSEPH

HEDRLIN

A p p l l c a n t

_.

AND

TIIE PROPRIETORS OF STRATA PLAN

No.

3 6 7 0

Respondent

!

N o . V7.

4 4 8 of 1983

BETWEEN

JOSEPIl H DiUIN A p p l l c a n t

-

AND

TIIE PROPRIETORS - STR4TA PLAN

NO.

3 6 7 0

First

R e s p o n d e n t

AND -

mu[

CHRISTOPHZR

DONNELLY

Second

R e s p o n d e n t

CORAM:

B e a u m o n t ,

J.

DATED :

27 Septembsr, 1983.

- 2 -

REASONS FOR JUDGNENT

I wlll deal flrst wlth matter No.

W

4 4 8

of

1 9 8 3 .

There are two applicatlons before the Court. The flrst is an

appllcation to stay proceedlngs under the sequestratlon

order; the second is an application to annul the bankruptcy.

The first appllcatlon

1s an lnterlm applicatlon and

is lncldental

to the second application.

On 2 9 August, 1 9 8 3 I reEused a simllar application for

annulment for the reasons

I then gave.

On thls occasion the

applicant has covered much of the ground ralsed in the earlier

application. Even if the matter were

not res judlcata,

I see

no reason for

changmg the views I then expressed. However, the

applicant, who still appears in person, has raised a number of

fresh matters

as follows:

1.

The €act that appllcatlon has been made

to the Court

of Appeal of the Supreme Court of New South Wales seeking leave

to appeal agalnst a decision of a single

~udge

of that Court,

such application to be heard

on 7

November, 1 9 8 3 .

2.

The decision

o€ Needham, J.

in the matter Proprletors

of Strata Plan No.

6522 v. rurney

( 1 9 7 6 )

1 NSWLR 412.

3 .

The

provislons of the

Anti-Discrlminatlon

Act,

-

1 9 7 7

( N . S . W . )

(see Viskuskas

v.

Nlland

( 1 9 8 3 )

47 KZR 3 2 ) -

- 3 -

4.

Sectlon

35

of

the

Bankruptcy

Act, 1966: m this

connection, the applicant seeks

a transfer of the bankruptcy

proceedings to the Supreme Court of

X'ew South Wales.

In my opinion, Eone

of these matters are relevant to

this appllcation, which

is confined to the 3urlsdiction granted

by s.154 of the Bankruptcy Act, 1966. As a further ground,

the applicant asserts that he is

able, although unwilling, to

pay his debts. Presumably the appllcant has

m mind the decision

of the Full Court of this Court ln

R e Sarina (1980) 32

ALR 596.

Thls ground could conceivably

be made out if evldence to support

It were available.

However, no evidence, as distinct from

assertion, of the applicant's financial position

was adduced.

It follows that, again, the appllcation must be

dlsrnissed.

Again, I order that the appllcant

pay the costs of

the first respondent,

lncludmg reserved costs, and I further

order that the applicant

pay the costs of the second respondent

on a submitting

bas ls .

I turn now to the other appllcation and that

is in

matter No. G. 137 of 1983. In paragraph 2 of his notice of

motion the applicant seeks an order for the renoval

of the

trustee of his estate. The applicant appears in person and argued this matter at the same time as two related applications

(see above)

.

Originally, this application was to be heard

on

4 October, 1983,

but by consent this fixture was vacated and

- 4 -

the appllcatlon was argued today. The ?.P?llCant

tendered no

evldence ln the appllcatlon but made

a number of assertions. He

referred to:

(1)

alleged blas on the part of the trustee;

(2 )

the statutory consent glven by

ths trustee to

act;

( 3 )

an

alleged

private

agreement

bet%een

the

trustee,

the respondent and its solicitor;

( 4 )

section 165 of the

Act;

( 5 )

section 19(1) (c)

and

(g)

of

the

A c t ;

( 6 )

the

circumstances

surrounding

the

joinder of

the trustee as a respondent to the appeal against

the judgment and orders

of Evatt, J. made on

24 May, 1983 in whlch the applicant

was made bankrupt.

In my oplnlon, few only of the foregoiny matters bear

upon the Issue

of the Eitness

of the trustee

to act, but, in

any event, there

is no material before the Court sufflcient to

warrant the nakmq of any finding

of blas or nlsconduct on the

part of the trustee,

nor, in my view, has any case been mede out

which would justify an inference

of apprehenslon on the part of

the applicant that on any reasonable basls he should fear

tinat

there will be blas

or misconduct in the fucure on the part

of

the trustee.

It follows, in my

n e w , that the applicatlon for removal

should be dismissed and the appllcant must pay the costs

of the

respondents, including any reserved costs.

I certify that W

ttie F preceding

,>ages are a true copy of

the reasons for

iubgment herein of The lianourable

Details
AGLC
Hedrlin, Joseph v The Proprietors of Strata Plan No. 3670 [1983] FCA 287
Case
[1983] FCA 287
Decision Date

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the Federal Court of Australia, Joseph Hedrlin sought to challenge a sequestration order and the appointment of a trustee in his bankruptcy. The respondents were the proprietors of Strata Plan No. 3670 and Max Christopher Donnelly, who was the trustee. The court had to decide whether to grant an application to stay proceedings under the sequestration order and to annul the bankruptcy, as well as an application to remove the trustee.

The primary legal issues were whether the applicant could provide sufficient grounds to justify the stay of the sequestration order and the annulment of his bankruptcy. Additionally, the court had to determine if there were valid reasons to remove the trustee based on alleged bias or misconduct. The applicant argued that there were fresh matters such as a pending appeal, provisions of the Anti-Discrimination Act, and his ability to pay his debts. However, the court found that none of these arguments were relevant to the jurisdiction granted by the Bankruptcy Act. The applicant did not provide any evidence to support his claims, and therefore, the applications were dismissed.

Beaumont, J. concluded that the application to stay the proceedings and annul the bankruptcy was without merit and dismissed it. The applicant was ordered to pay the costs of the first respondent, including reserved costs, and the costs of the second respondent on a submitting basis. The application to remove the trustee was also dismissed, and the applicant was ordered to pay the respondents' costs, including any reserved costs. The court found no material evidence of bias or misconduct by the trustee that would justify his removal.

Orders

Orders of the court

Full text does not contain this section.

Background

Background to the litigation

Full text does not contain this section.

Evidence

Evidence Before The Court

Full text does not contain this section.

Decision

Reasons for decision

Full text does not contain this section.

Ratio Decidendi

Legal Principle Established

Full text does not contain this section.