Park v Whyte (No 2)

The case of Park v Whyte (No 2) involved the respondents, who were the administrators and liquidators of a number of registered investment schemes, bringing claims against the responsible entity of those schemes, the second applicant, for remuneration and expenses incurred in their roles. The primary judge in this case was Justice Bromberg of the Federal Court of Australia. The central legal issue was whether the respondents were entitled to be paid for their services from the trust property of the investment schemes of which the second applicant was the registered entity. This issue was considered in the context of the statutory framework governing managed investment schemes and the responsibilities of the responsible entity.

The court held that the respondents were entitled to be paid from the trust property of the investment schemes for the services they provided as administrators and liquidators. The court reasoned that the statutory provisions governing managed investment schemes required the responsible entity to ensure that the schemes were wound up in accordance with their constitutions and relevant laws, and this necessarily included paying the costs of doing so. The court further held that the remuneration and expenses claimed by the respondents were reasonable and necessary, and that there were no grounds to reduce the amounts claimed. The court directed the parties to agree on the amounts to be paid or, failing agreement, to relist the matter for further hearing or directions.

The final orders of the court specified the amounts to be paid to the respondents from the trust property of the various investment schemes, both as administrators and liquidators, and provided for the submission of draft orders and submissions on costs. The court also provided for a final hearing to address any outstanding matters, including costs, on 22 November 2017.