Nasr v Etihad Airways PJSC

This matter concerned an appeal from a judgment that dismissed an application to set aside a winding up order. The applicant, a company, had failed to comply with a statutory demand and was therefore required to seek leave to oppose the winding up proceedings. The central dispute revolved around whether the company had standing to apply to set aside the winding up order and, if so, whether it had demonstrated a material ground for doing so, specifically by providing evidence of solvency.

The court was required to determine two primary legal issues. Firstly, whether the applicant company possessed the necessary standing to apply to set aside the winding up order, given its failure to comply with the statutory demand and its subsequent requirement to seek leave to oppose the winding up. Secondly, if standing was established, the court had to consider whether the grounds on which the company sought to rely were material to proving its solvency, and whether the evidence presented by the company was sufficient to establish that it was, in fact, solvent.

In its reasoning, the court applied principles derived from the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), particularly concerning the process for opposing winding up proceedings after non-compliance with a statutory demand. The court considered the evidentiary burden on a company seeking to demonstrate solvency in such circumstances. The court ultimately found that the applicant had not satisfied the requirements to establish standing or to demonstrate a material ground for setting aside the winding up order. Consequently, the application for leave to appeal was dismissed, and the applicant was ordered to pay the first respondent's costs.