Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc v City of Swan & Ors [2010] HCATrans 7

The High Court of Australia heard an application for special leave to appeal in the matter of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc (in liquidation) and the City of Swan and others. The dispute concerned the validity of certain charges registered against the assets of Lehman Brothers Australia Limited.

The primary legal issue before the High Court was whether the City of Swan and other local government entities had validly registered charges over the assets of Lehman Brothers Australia Limited under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth). This involved determining whether the registration of these charges was effective to secure the payment of rates and charges owed by Lehman Brothers Australia Limited to the local government entities.

The High Court granted special leave to appeal. The Court's reasoning, as indicated by the granting of special leave, suggests a view that there were arguable points of law concerning the interpretation and application of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) in relation to the registration of charges by local government bodies. The underlying dispute likely involved complex questions of corporate insolvency law and the priority of creditors.

The High Court granted special leave to appeal, indicating that the appeal would proceed to a full hearing.