Melluish v Underwood Development Pty Ltd

Melluish v Underwood Development Pty Ltd involved a dispute between the plaintiff, Melluish, a shareholder and director of Underwood Development Pty Ltd, and the defendant, the company's trustee in bankruptcy. The plaintiff sought the reinstatement of the company's registration, which had been deregistered by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. The case was heard in the Supreme Court of New South Wales.

The central legal issues before the court were whether the trustee in bankruptcy, who was also the trustee for both shareholders, qualified as a "person aggrieved" by the deregistration and whether the trustee, as a "contributory," had standing to petition for the winding up of the company on just and equitable grounds. The court had to determine if the trustee's interests were sufficiently affected by the deregistration to grant the relief sought and whether the actions of the former shareholders constituted a diversion of company property that warranted such an order.

The court held that the trustee in bankruptcy was not a "person aggrieved" by the deregistration as the company had assets exceeding its liabilities, thus there was no financial prejudice to creditors. Additionally, the court found that the trustee did not have standing to petition for the winding up of the company on just and equitable grounds, as the actions of the former shareholders did not constitute a diversion of company property. The court dismissed the plaintiff's application for the reinstatement of the company's registration and for the winding up of the company on the grounds that no just and equitable cause was demonstrated.

No further orders were made by the court.