McGill v Atifame Pty Ltd

McGill, the plaintiff, applied to wind up Atifame Pty Ltd, a company, on the basis that it was insolvent due to its inability to pay its debts. The application was made by McGill's firm, which had provided legal services to Atifame. The company had failed to comply with a statutory demand issued by McGill's firm for outstanding legal fees. The case was heard in the Supreme Court of New South Wales. The defendant argued that McGill did not have standing to apply for the winding up of the company as it was not a creditor. Additionally, the defendant contended that there was no debt "due and payable" as the bill for legal fees did not comply with the Legal Profession Act 1987 and the Legal Profession Regulation 1994.

The court needed to determine if the application could be opposed on the grounds that McGill did not have standing because it was not a creditor, and if the application could be opposed on the basis that there was no debt "due and payable" due to non-compliance with the statutory requirements. The court also needed to assess whether the company had genuinely attempted to pay the debt or if it had simply ignored the statutory demand.

The court held that McGill did have standing to apply for the winding up of the company as it was a creditor. The court found that the bill for legal fees did comply with the statutory requirements, and therefore, a debt was "due and payable". The court further found that the company had not made any attempt to pay the debt or to dispute the validity of the debt. The court concluded that the company was insolvent and granted the application to wind up the company. The court ordered that Atifame Pty Ltd be wound up and an liquidator be appointed.