Manenti Holdings Pty Ltd v Untell Pty Ltd

Manenti Holdings Pty Ltd (the applicant) sought to set aside a statutory demand issued by Untell Pty Ltd (the respondent). The dispute concerned whether Manenti Holdings was indebted to Untell Pty Ltd in the amount claimed in the statutory demand, or whether there was a genuine dispute about the existence or amount of the debt. The matter came before T. Williams in the Supreme Court of New South Wales.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether Manenti Holdings had established that there was a "genuine dispute" regarding the debt, as required by section 459H of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) to set aside the statutory demand. This involved considering whether the grounds raised by Manenti Holdings were substantial and arguable, rather than merely vexatious or frivolous.

T. Williams found that Manenti Holdings had failed to demonstrate a genuine dispute. The court considered the evidence presented by both parties and concluded that the applicant's claims of set-off and counter-claim were not sufficiently substantiated to raise a genuine dispute about the existence or amount of the debt. The principles applied focused on the threshold for establishing a genuine dispute under the Corporations Act, requiring more than mere assertions and necessitating evidence that demonstrated a real question to be tried.

Consequently, the court dismissed the application to set aside the statutory demand.