In The Matter Of iInvest Pty Limited

In the Federal Court of Australia, the matter of iInvest Pty Limited was heard by Justice Gilmour. The dispute involved a statutory demand made by a creditor against iInvest Pty Limited, which had been presumed to be insolvent. The company sought to oppose the appointment of a liquidator by asserting that it was solvent and could meet its debts as they fell due. The legal issues centred on the burden of proof required to establish solvency and the sufficiency of the evidence provided by the company in response to the creditor's application.

The court examined whether the evidence presented by iInvest Pty Limited was the fullest and best evidence available to prove solvency, as required under the law. Justice Gilmour noted that the company's evidence was not the most comprehensive, as it relied on estimates and projections rather than concrete financial data. The court also considered whether there was any prospect of realising the company's assets through an auction that could satisfy the creditor's debt. Ultimately, the judge concluded that the company had not provided adequate evidence to rebut the presumption of insolvency and that there was no real prospect of realising sufficient assets to pay the creditor's debt.

In light of these findings, Justice Gilmour exercised the discretion under section 467(1) of the Corporations Act to adjourn the winding-up application. The court determined that the creditor's application should be adjourned to allow the company to provide more robust evidence of its financial position and to explore potential asset realisation. The final orders included an adjournment of the winding-up application for a specified period to enable the company to present its case more convincingly and to pursue avenues for asset realisation that might satisfy the creditor's claim.