Re Calderon, Kevin Roy

[1977] FCA 26

REASONS FOR JUDGMENT

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On 24 November 1 9 7 6 a seques t ra t icv orc?er <,.-as ~,tdc? :[?sind:

t h c c s t a t e s of Kevin Roy Calderon and h i s wife Jure l?l?ine Cz:dcIcrl.

On 9 December 1 9 7 6 t h e y f i l e d this a p p l i c a t i o r d a t e d 6 Decclllber

1976, whlch a s amendsd p u r s u a n t t o l e a v c q r a n t c d on 11 M a r c : h 1 9 7 7

seeks an o r d e r r e s c i n d i n g t h e s e q u f s t r a t i c n o r d e r or L:ltcr:1;+t:-p21.y

an order under S. 154(1) (a ) of the Eankruptcy A c t 1366 annc!iing

the bankruptcy on the ground tha t tile c r e d i t o r s ' p e t i t j o n was lot

served on t h e a p p l i c a n t s a n d t h e s e q u c s t r a t i o n o r d e r t h e r c i x r .

o u g h t n o t t o h a w b e e n made. The a p p l i c a t i o n v a c opposca by

t h e p e t i t i o n i n g c r e d i t o r s .

Sec t ion 154 (1) ( a ) , so Tar ,IS it is m a t e r i z l to till.: ca.se,

p r o v l d c 5 t 5 a t "I.rvrc the-: Court Is s a t j sfied that. a s;cquc:straL~on

Ordcr ouc,ht noc to have becl. 1?-2,?? . . ~ the Court may x.z!\+ dn ofclisr

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may appear f rom cvidcncc subseouent ly f ~ l e d , and

c e r t a l n l y would not appear f rom the b a r e s t a t e p e n t

m t h e form.tl. p e t i t i o n , w h i c h alone was b e f o r e t h e

Court when t h e o r d e r was made".

I n t h a t case t h e q u e s t i o n was whe the r an ad jud ica t ion ough t t o

be annul led. the "ba re s t a t emen t" It had been made on t h e d e b t o r ' s own p e t i t i o n , and

to wh ich h l s Lordsh lp referred v a s n o t a

s w o r n s t a t e m e n t b u t t h e d e b t o r ' s a l l e g a t i o n , r e q u i r e d b y S. G of

the Bankruptcy A c t 1 9 1 4 , i n h i s p e t i t i o n t h a t h e was u n a b l e t o

pay h i s d e b t s .

I n R e Williams ( 1 9 6 8 ) , 13 F.L.R. 10, 23, Gibbs J.,

speaking of S . 154 (1) (a) , s a i d

"Under t h i s sect ion t h e r e are two matters which the

Court has t o c o n s i d e r , f i r s t , w h e t h e r t h e s c q u c s t r a t l o n

o r d e r o u g h t n o t t o h a v e been made, and then, i f t h e

Court is s a t i s f i e d of t h a t , w h e t h e r i n t h e e x e r c i s e of

t h e C o u r t ' s d i s c r e t i o n t h e o r d e r s h o u l d b e d i s c h a r q c - d

(see Delph Sing v. Wood (1918), 25 C.L.R. 4 9 7 , 4 9 8 p e r

S t r e e t J . , whose d e c i s l o n was a f f l rmed by the II lgh

C o u r t ) . In de t e rmin ing t he ques t ion whe the r t he

seques t ra t ion order ought no t to have becn made , the

Court i s e n t i t l e d t o c o n s i d e r n o t o n l y t h c case as

d i s c l o s e d a t t h e time t h e o r d e r was made, b u t as It

would have been disclosed had a l l t h e t r u e facts bec-n

before the Cour t on the making of the order ( R e Cool.

( 1 9 4 6 1 , 13 A.B.C. 245 , 259) . I f t he Cour t i s s a t l s f l e d

t h a t t h e order ough t no t t o hove been made, It 1 s n o t

bound as a m a t t e r of cour se t o a n n u l t h e o r d e r , b u t m u s t

c o n s l d e r i n t h e l i g h t o f a l l t he c i r cums tances of the

case whether the order ought to be annul led (Delph Sing v .

Wood, 498-499; R e Lawson (1939) , 11 A . B . C . 137, 139)-''-

T h i r d l y I quo te from the judgment of Lucas J. i n R e S c o t t

--

(1975),6 A.L.R. 558, 559:

"The first q u e s t i o n f o r my d e c i s i o n i n t h e s e c i r c u m s t a n c e s

i s whether the bankrupt Lr lngs h imsel f wi th in the words

of S. 154 (1) (a ) i n the s e n s e t h a t h e c a n show t h a t t h c

s e q u e s t r a t i o n o r d e r o u g h t n o t t o have been made. .ud

it has been remarked tha t these a re words of w j l c in ,por t

and one t e s t which has bcen a p p l i e d f r o m t i n e t o t i r e

is t h a t t h e matter should be considcred as i f all thc

t r u e f a c t s as shown i n t h e a p p l i c a t i o n f o r t h e a n n u l m e n t

had been before the cour t when t h e S e q u e s t r a t i o n o r r k r

was made. These words however, In my opinion, hnvs to

be read i n t h e l i g h t o f t h e w o r d s of t h c sectlon ant? they

are t h a t t h e s c q u e s t r a t i o c o r d e r ' o u g h t n o t t o h a v e Lee:1

made'. I t seems t o me t h a t t h e f a c r s - t h e true [ a c t s -

which t h i s p r i n c i p l e m u s t Lefer t o a r e Chc f a c t s a: I-hey

e x i s t e d upon t h e d a t e when t h e s c q u c s t r a t l o n orci?!r

was made and t h a t f a c t s which have come i n t o c x l s t c n c e

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s i n c e t h a t date cannot be c o n s i d e r e d f o r t h e pul-pose

of seeing whcther it ought t o h a v e becn made".

I t h i n k t h o s e a u t h o r l t i e s warran t t h e s t a t emen t of the

fo l lowing p ropos l t i ons :

1. I t is t h e a p p l i c a n t f o r a n n u l n e n t who aller;es, and

it is t h e r o f o r c f o r him t o b r i n y h i m s e l f w i t h i n

t h e s e c t i o n and s a t i s f y t h e C o u r t , t h a t t h e

seques t r a t ion o rde r ough t no t t o have been macie.

2 . The C o u r t o whom t h e a p p l i c a t i o n is made sec.l:s t o

a s c e r t a i n t h e a c t u a l s ta te o f a f f a i r s a t the time

when t h e s e q u e s t r a t i o n o r d e r i s made. I n t he

p r e s e n t c a s e , it must seek t o a s c e r t a i n whether

o r n o t t h e p e t i t i o n h a d b e e n d u l y s e r v e d o n e a c h

of t h e a p p l i c a n t s .

3 . I n o r d e r t o a s c e r t a i n t h a t a c t u a l s t a t e of a E f a i r s

the Cour t hear ing t h c app l i ca t ion fo r annu lmcn t

looks a t t h e f a c t s t h a t were be fo re the Cour t which

made	t h e s e q u e s t r a t i o n o r d e r a n d a t a n y o t h e r f a c t s
t h a t	were n o t b e f o r e t h a t C o u r t b u t are shown on

t h e h e a r i n g o f t h e a p p l l c a t i o n f o r a n n u l m e n t to

have been in ex i s t ence when t h e s e q u e s t r a t i o n

o r d c r was made,

4 . Having considered a l l t h e facts so looked a t , t h e

Court determines whckher on those facts t h e

a p p l i c a n t h a s s a t i s f i e d it t h a t t h e s e q u e s t r a L i o n

o rde r ough t no t t o have been made.

5. I f it is so s a t i s f i e d , t h e C o u r t i s n o t bound t o

annu l t he seques t r a t ion o rde r bu t mus t cons ide r

i n a l l the c i r cums tances o f t he case whether It

ought t o be annul led.

I n t h e p r e s e n t case t h e p e t i t i o n , w h i c h a l l e g e d a d e b t

of $609.12 for accountancy work, came on f o r h e a r i n g on i t s

r e t u r n d a t e 2 4 November 1 9 7 6 . The d e b t o r s were c a l l e d b u t d l d n o t

appear . The ev idence o f se rv ice o f t h e p e t i t i o n c o n s l s t e d of an

a f f i d a v i t sworn on 29 September 1 9 7 6 by Anthony Ronald Barrett ,

who descr i l led himself as a commercial sub-agent and dcposed t o

! h a v i n g s e r v e d a n o f f i c i a l c o p y o f t h e p e t i t l o n a n d c o p i e s o€ the

a f f i d a v i t s v e r i f y i n g it on each of the debtors on Frir?ay 2 4

September 1.976 a t 5.30 p.m. a t 1 2 1 Watt le S t r ee t , Punchbowl.

He deposed tha t he iden t i f i ed the pe r sons he se rved a s I i ev in

Roy Calderon and June Elaine Calderon "by ask ing a t t h e tlmc of

s e r v i c e : ' A r e you Kevin Roy Calderon and June Elaine C d l d C r O i l ,

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t h e p e r s o n s e a c h r e p l i e d : r e f e r r e d t o i n t h i s B a n k r u p t c y P e t l t l o n ? ' They

' Y e s ' . " The same deponent swore m a similar1 :r

p h r a s e d a f f i d a v i t of 1 9 August 1 9 7 6 t o l laving servcci each of the

d e b t o r s w i t h a c o p y o f t h e b a n k r u p t c y n o t i c c a t 9 . 4 0 a.m. on

1 7 August 1 9 7 6 a t t h e same addres s . A s e q u e s t r a t i o n o r d e r was

made on 2 4 November 1976.

T h i s a p p l i c a t i o n was f i r s t l l s t e d b e f o r c m e on 1 7 December

1 9 7 6 . I t was n o t r e a c h e d u n t l l t h e e n d o f t h e d a y . I t i s aqceed

t h a t M r . B a r r e t t t h e p r o c e s s s e r v e r was t h e n i n a t t e n d a n c e a t

the Cour t . The h e a r i n g w a s t h e n a d ~ o u r n e d , and c v e n t u a l l y w?,s

he ld on f o u r d a y s i n A p r i l . No evidence was given by Mr. B a r r e t t .

Mr. Pearce, manager of the process-serving company by which

M r . Barrett had been employed f o r a b o u t 2+ years , gave evlcZence

t h a t h e d i d n o t know the p re sen t whereahou t s o f V!. B a r r e t t , who

had l e f t t h a t employment suddanly and without noticc a t ahou: t h e

end of January 1977 .

M r . Calderon swore a n a f f i c ? a v i t i n s u p p o r t of t h e

app l i ca t ion fo r annu lmen t on 7 December 1 9 7 6 in which hc adml t ted

s e r v i c e o f t h e b a n k r u p t c y n o t i c e on 1 7 August 1 9 7 6 b u t , r e f e r r m g

t o t h e a l l e g a t i o n t h a t h e h a d b e e n s e r v e d w i t h t h e p e t i t l o n at

! 5.30 p.m. on Friday 2 4 September 1 9 7 6 a t 121 W a t t l e S t r e e t ,

Punchbowl, s a i d

"9 . I s a y t h a t I was not served with any such Eanbruptcy

P e t i t i o n a t t h e time and d a t e so a l l e g e d i n t!lc

a f f i d a v i t , n o r was I served with any Bankrup?,-y

P e t i t i o n a t any o the r tlmc and da te .

10. I d o n o t b e l i e v e t h a t I was p r e s e n t at. my p r e m . s + ~ s

a t 1 2 1 Wattle S t r ee t , Punchbowl on (sic) o r 3 : m u t

5.30 p.m. on Frlday 2 4 S-.?tcmbcr 1976 b u t I aLq

n o t i n a p o s i t i o n t o s w e a r p o s i t i v c l y t h a t I i 7 a ~

n o t so p r c s c n t .

11. I do know t h a t I a t t e n d e d upon t h e Manager of t h e

Nat iona l Bank of AUSt.KalaSia L m i t e d , Klngsqr,>ve

branch, a t 3.30 p.m. f o r a p c r i o d of approsim:-ltcly

t en minu te s . I fu:-tl:cr say t h a t 1 t has bec.n : ~ y

p r a c t i c e t o a t t c n d VCJ Jcl~very of qsods t o v a r i o u s

cus tomers la te Fr lddy <?f turnoons and t h a t i be l i evn

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t h a t I was so occupied on 21th Septcplher 1 9 7 6 " .

On 1 A p r i l 1 9 7 7 M r . Calderon was only formally cxdcl~ned

o r a l l y , b u t o n t h a t d a y a n d on 5 Apr l l he was cross-cxamlned

a t l e n q t h . By 1 A p r i l t h e b e l i e f e x p r e s s e d i n p a r a g r a p h 10 of

h i s a f f i d a v i t had on considerat ion hardened into some r eco l l c , c t lon

o f h i s a c t i v i t i e s on 2 4 September 1976. H e had th ree cus tomers

t o whom as a r u l e h e made deliveries on F r iday and to each of

whom h e d i d make a d e l i v e r y o n 2 4 Scptember. They were S n m , ~ . t

Souven i r s a t U l t imo , L i s a Group Sales a t Camperdown and Hawtcjn's

S p o r t s S t o r e a t Seven Hills, and on t h a t d a y h e v i s i t e d them i n

t h a t o r d e r , w l t h a v i s i t t o h i s bank a t Klngsgrove i n betweer,

h i s v i s i t s t o L l s a Group Sales and IIawton's. He s a i d o n 1 A;iril

tha t he then had a t home a r e c e i p t f o r g o o d s d e l i v e r e d t o H a w t o n ' s

on 2 4 September: he had not brought it t o court because he had

not been asked t o b r i n g i t , b u t h e knew t h a t It had on it "R-celved

goods. Seven Hills Spor t s S to re" and t he da t e , and was s igned

by Mr. Hawton. He a l s o had a t home a s lgned de l ive ry docke t o f

2 4 September from L i s a Group Sales. H e had nevcr had such a

document from Summit Souvenirs . H e had been in touch wi th a l l

t h r e e firms but none had been able to say a t what tlme he had

de l ive red on 24 September. H e was a t t h e bank f o r a b o u t t e n

minu tes on tha t da t e , and was p o s i t l v e h e h a d a r r i v e d t h e r e a t

about 3.10 p.m. (no t 3.30 p.m. as he had s a l d i n h i s a f f l d a v l t ) .

I t normally takes about 4 0 minu tes to d r ive f rom the bank to

Seven Hllls. H i s l a s t d e l i v e r y was to Hawton's, and though 1.:

could not remember i ts e x a c t time, It was n e a r t h e store's

c l o s i n g time of	5.30	p.m.,	and	could	have	been	between	4 . 3 0	dnd
5 p.m.

On 5 A p r i l M r . Ca lderon , b2 ing fur ther ques t ioncr l about

h i s v i s i t on 24 September t o t h e b a n k , s a i d it could have been

3-40 P.m. when he l e f t t h e bank b u t n o t much l a t e r , because

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h a v i n g l e f t h e made a f i f teen mlnute journey (which he had cot

previously mentioned) back t o 1 2 1 Watt le Street where he p a i d

h i s s t a f f , who s t o p work a t 4 p.m., before going t o Hawto:;'s a t

Seven Hills. H i s w i fe was a t t h e Punchbowl premises xhcn he pai.d

t h e s t a f f . Rernindcd t h a t he had on 1 Apri l spoken of a rccelpt:

f o r d e l i v e r y g i v e n hlm by IIawton's h e said he had again "olnl t ted"

t o b r i n g it, and r epca ted tha t it was slgned hy Mr. Hawton.

H e now s a i d t h a t , h a v i n g l e f t 1 2 1 W a t t l e S t r e e t JUSC

a f t e r 4 p.n. , he drove t o Seven Hills - a t r i p o f a b o u t 4 0

minutes - and r e tu rned f rom the re to 121 Wattle Street where he

a r r i v e d a t 5 . 4 0 p.m. He was now a b l e t o f i x t h a t t l m o b e c a u s e

b e r e c a l l e d t h a t when h e a r r i v e d he found t h a t his wife and

c h i l d r e n wcre n o t t h e r e , n o r was h i s w l f e ' s c a r . H e had assufled

they had gone for t h e c h i l d r e n ' s swimminq p r a c t i c e . "I lookcad

a t the c lock and though t t hey mus t have l e f t ea r ly" . 4s 1:hc clock

showed 5 . 4 0 p.m., it i s n o t c l e a r why he shouid have thouqht so,

because he knew t h a t t h e c h i l d r e n were due a t t h c s w i m u n g pool

a t 5.30. Two casual employees who worked i n t h e e v e n i n g were

t h e r e when he looked a t t h e c l o c k . He sees them t h r c c o r f c u r

times a week, bu t had not a t tempted t o seek t h e i r r e c o l l e c t i o n s

! o f t h a t d a y , f o r t h e r a t h e r odd r eason tha t "There was no n e e d to

... because I d i d n o t c o n s i d e r it was any of t h e i r b u s i n e s s " .

No document signed by M r . Hawton was e v e r t e n d c r c d , b u t

on 14 A p r i l 1 9 7 7 c o u n s e l f o r t h e p e t i t l o n i n g c r e d i t o r t e n d e r e d

w i t h o u t o b j e c t i o n a carbon copy of a n I n v o i c e a d d r e s s e d t o

Hawton's Sports Store and bear ing in carbon notd t lons of two

d a t e s 24/9 /76 and 25 /9 /76 , and a s i g n a t u r e "K. R. Calderon". The

s i g n a t u r e was n o t i d e n t i f i e d , b u t b e a r s a close resemblance t o a

s i g n a t u r e , i d e n t i f i e d b y Mr. Ca lde ron a s be lng h i s , on ano the r

document i n ev idence , However, the carhon doculnent 1s. of l i t t l e

importance because, if the whole of Mr. Calderon's cvic1rncc be

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accepted, it comes i n t h e e n d t o a n a d m i s s i o n t h a t t h e b e l i e f

e x p r e s s e d i n h i s a f f i d a v i t t h a t h e was n o t p r e s e n t a t 1 2 1 Wat t le

S t r e e t "on or about 5.30 p.m." on Friday 24 September was

e r r o n e o u s t o t h e e x t e n t t h a t h e was t h e r e a t 5.40 p.m. o n t h a t

d a t e - t en minutes af ter t h e time of service sworn t o by t h e

p rocess server.

Mrs. Caldcron was, i n h e r affidavit sworn on 7 Decernber

1 9 7 6 i n s u p p o r t of t h e a p p l l c a t i o n , more p o s i t i v e t h a n h e r

husband had been i n h i s . She adml t t ed tha t she was served w;.th a

bankruptcy not ice on o r about 1 7 August 1376, but denied having

b e e n s e r v e d w i t h t h e p e t i t i o n a t 5.30 p.m. on Fr iday 2 4 Sep'imher

a t 121 Wattle Street , and added

"10. I f u r t h e r s a y t h a t on the 24th September 1 9 7 6

d u r m g t h e time p e r i c d o f approximately 5.00 p . a .

t o 5.15 p.m. I w a s t r a v e l l i n g i n my motor vchlc le

from 121 W a t t l e S t r e c t , Punchbowl t o t h e Dankctown

Indoor Swimming Pool a t Wst St ree t , Banksto\:n,

a d i s t a n c e of approx ina te ly t w o ( 2 ) m l l e s . A t

approximately 5.15 p.m. I a r r i v c d a t t h e s a i d

i

swimmlng pool and remained there for a per lod of

time w h i l s t my chi ldrcn underwent swimminq t u i t l o n

u n t i l a p p r o x i m a t e l y 6 . 3 0 p.m. I a r r i v e d Ilome

a t approximately 6.50 p.m."

On 5 A p r i l 1977 Mrs. Calderon w a s o r a l l y examined o ~ l y

fo rma l ly , bu t on tha t day and on 7 A p r i l s h e was cross-esamined

a t l e n g t h . It is necessary t o understand the backqround of

Mrs. Calderon ' s ev idence as t o h e r movements on t h e a f t c r n o o n o f

24 September 1976. It was desc r ibed by t h e swimming i n s t r u c t o r ,

M r . Grinham, who impressed m e as a wi tness of hones ty and accuracy

He e x p l a i n e d t h a t t h e d a i l y r o u t l n e of h l s swimmlng lcssons and

p r a c t i c e had two s t a g e s . What was v a r i o u s l y c a l l e d t r a i n m g o r

p r e p a r a t i o n or t u i t i o n b e g a n a t 5 . 3 0 p.m. Then races wcre he id

which began not ear l ie r than 6 .30 p.m. and not la ter t h a n 7 p . m . :

M r . Grinham was r a t h e r i n s i s t e n t on the ch i ldren be ing puncz tua l .

The r e s u l t s a c h i e v e d by c h i l d r e n i n r a c e s werc rucnrdcd on c'-,rds.

I n h e r o r a l e v i d e n c e Mrs. C a l d e r o n c o n s ~ d c r a b l y q u a l i.f.Lcr!

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t h e positiveness of the s ta tement she had made i n h e r ;Iffidav:.t

a b o u t h e r a c t i v i t l e s on 2 4 Sep te rhc r . She a d m t t e d t h a t shc 11ad

no r e c o l l e c t i o n o f t h a t d a y " s p c c l f l c a l l y , as a s p e c l f l c d a y "

and m ~ d e it c l e a r t h a t s h c was reconstruct icg what happencd on

t h a t d a y from h e r " h a b i t " o f t a k i n g h e r c h i l d r e n t o swlmmlng

l e s s o n s on f i v e d a y s a week. So r e c o n s t r u c t i n g , s h e sald shc

l e f t h e r home a t a b o u t 5.15 p.m. I n o r d e r t o g c t t h e c h i l d r e n t o

the poo l by 5.30 p.m., remained a t t h e p o o l w h l l e t h c y were

t r a i n i n g , f i l l e d i n and handed i n t h e i r e n t r y c a r d s f o r t h c r a c e s ,

l e f t t h e p o o l a b o u t 6 . 2 0 o r 6 . 2 5 p.m., got back home about 6 . 4 5 p-m.

t o p repa re the even ing mea l , and r e tu rned to the poo l by abofil-

7.30 p.m. or 1 .40 p.m. t o c o l l e c t t h e c h l l d r e n a f t e r t h e i r r a c e s

and bring them home.

If t h a t a c c o u n t 1 s c o r r e c t , Mrs. Caldcron was away fto!a

h e r hornc from about 5.15 p.m. t o 6 . 4 5 p.m. Eut I pm n o t s a t i s f l e d

t h a t it is correct. Mrs. C a l d e r o n s a i d t h a t s h e n e v e r l e f t t h e

p o o l b e f o r e t h e c h i l d r e n ' s t u i t i o n ( w h i c h e n d e d a t 6 .30 p.m.)

f i n i s h e d : s h e a l w a y s w a t c h e d t h e i r t u i t i o n . Mr. Grinham, howevcr,

whosc evidence I p r e f e r , s a i d " S h e b r i n g s t h e c h i l d r e n t o t h e pool

on normal swimmlng days and qui te of ten leaves them and p i c k s

them up aga in . A t o t h e r times she does s tay and watch the

t r a i n i n g t a k e p l a c e . ... Most evenlngs , Mrs. Calderon i s t h e r e

be tween qua r t e r -pas t and ha l f -pas t f i ve" ; and tha t he "cou ld no t

say she was always there" when t h e c h i l d r c n s t a r t e d t h e i r t u i t i o n

p r e p a r a t i o n . F u r t h e r , Mrs. Calderon said she t o o k t h e c h i l d r c n

t o t h e p o o l e v e r y d a y , f i v e d a y s a wcck, save for some e x t r e r v l y

cold days in mid-winter or when the wca the r ML: bad; bu t M r . Crinham

s a i d t h a t t r a i n a minimum of h e r c h l l d r e n were " v e r y r e q u l a r a t t c n d e r s ... . They

th ree times a wcck ... cvcry WC&; they art!

qui te regular th roughout the year , twelve manths of t h e y e a r . . .

I th ink they do one more s e s s i o n a week i n surmer time t ! r m v t n i ~ r

.,

-9-

time".

Mrs. C a l d e r o n s a i d t h a t t h e r e s u l t cards are he ld h:'

t h e swimming f a c e s i n d i c a t e t h a t c l u b . M r . Grinham produced four cards which on their

two Calderon ch i ldren swam i n races on

24 September. I t is unnecessary t o debate whether ~t was Mrs.

Calderon who w d s r i g h t when s h e s a i d s h e f i l l c d t h e c a r d s i n o r

M r . Grinham when he said they were in h is handwri t ing : and It

may well be t h a t e a c h f i l l e d i n p a r t of each ca rd . A t the most,

t h e c a r d s show w h e r e t h e c h i l d r e n w e r e a f t e r a b o u t 6 . 3 0 p-m. on

2 4 September: they do not show where Mrs. Calderon vas a t 01-

about 5 .30 p.m.

Nel ther of the Calderons favourably Impressed me as a

wi tnes s . The p e t i t i o n i n g c r e d i t o r ' s debt has been owed s l n c e

about 1969 , and arrangements to pay it were agreed upon b u t 1.3t

c a r r i e d o u t by t h e debtors, though hlr. Calderon said he "most

c e r t a i n l y " d i d n o t d i s p u t e it. I t w a s a p p a r e n t t h a t , i n t h e i r

own counse l ' S ap t words , t he Ca lde rons "are c e r t a i n l y no s t r a n g e r s

t o cour t p rocess* ' i s sued by t h e p e t i t i o n i n g c r e d i t o r a n d o t h e r

ja c r e d i t o r s . So f a r a s Mrs. Calderon is concerned, I do f iot

over look , and regard as q u i t e l i k e l y t r u e , h e r a s s e r t i o n t h a t i f

s h e were served wi th a l e g a l document she would a t once hand i t

to her husband; though I doubt she would have done so a s l n c c r l o u s l y

as she a l leged . She w a s a b l e t o s a y - " j u s t g e n e r a l i z m g " -

what "usual ly" was sa id by someone who se rved he r w i th a l e g a l

document; but general ly she and her husband profeS5€d (and l t h l n k

it n o t u n f a i r t o s a y r e s o l u t e l y p r o f e s s e d ) a l m o s t t o t a l i m b i l i t y

t o r e c a l l what documents had been served on them, approximately

when any document had been served on them and how o f t e n t h e y

had been served with documents, as well a s a profound iqnorancs

of t h e na tu re and e f f ec t o f any l ega l documen t , excep t possibiy a

c r e d i t o r ' s p e t i t i o n .

-10-

Nei the r was a r e l l a b l e w l t n e s s . The account of thc1.r

ev idence I have given above shows how and by what staqes Mr.

Calderon advanced t o t h e p o i n t w h e r e h e e s t a b l i s h e d a f t e r a l l on ly

t h a t h e was a t 1 2 i Watt le Street a t 5.40 p.m. on 2 4 September

1976 , and the unce r t a in t i e s a t t end ing Mrs. Cal .deron 's or1ginnl

b u t l a t e r h c a v l l y qualified a s s e r t i o n t h a t a t 5.30 p.m. on t : 7 2 t day

she was a t t h e swlmming pool .

I should say something about M r . Barrett 's a f f i d a v l t

of 29 September 1 9 7 6 , as submissions were made as t o t h e welqht

I should now give it. I t was suggested on beha l f o f t he

a p p l i c a n t s t h a t f r o m t h e c i r c u m s t a n c c s , d e s c r i b e d b y K r . Pearce,

o f M r . Barret t ' s l eav ing h i s employmnt an in fe rencc un favourab le

t o him should be drawn. I d o n o t a g r e e w l t h t h a t s u g g e s t i o n :

I see no h a n d t h e p e t i t i o n i n g c r e d i t o r s r e a s o n a t a l l t o draw such an infcrence. On t h e o ther

relied on other evidence giver ,

by Mr. Pearce, which was t o t h e e f f e c t t h a t t h e p r a c t l c ? o f his

company's o f f i c e was t h a t when a document a r r i v e d t o b e s e r v e d

it was p u t i n a n e n v e l o p e on which were noted t h e n a t u r c of t h e

document and d i r e c t i o n s f o r i t s se rv ice , t he documen t I n t h c

envelope be ing then g iven to a p roccss - se rve r . When s e r v i c e was

e f f e c t e d t h e process-server n o t e d d e t a i l s of t h e service on the

envelope and handed it i n t o t h e company. M r . Pearce 1dent i f ;ed

a s b e i n g i n Mr. B a r r e t t ' s h a n d w r l t i n g n o t a t i o n s on two envelopes

w h i c h i n d i c a t e d t h a t M r . B a r r e t t had noted on one tha t a bankruptcy

n o t x e h a d b e e n s e r v e d , f o r t h e s o l i c i t o r s f o r t h e p c t i t i c n i n g

c red i to r , on the Ca lde rons a t 9 . 4 0 a . m . on (as they bo th admj t t c d )

17 August b e e n s e r v e d , f o r 1 9 7 6 , and on the o the r t ha t a c r e d i t o r s ' p e t i t i o r , had

t h o s e s o l l c i t o r s , 011 the Calderons at. 5 . 3 0 p.m.

on 24 September 1976 . That evidence of courFe does not p rove

t h a t t h e p e t i t i o n was i n f a c t so s e r v e d , b u t it also does n o t

a d v e r s e l y a f f e c t t h e e v i d c n c e i n Mr. D a r r e t t ' s affidavit. I 1.1:iy.k

t h a t t h a t a f f l d a v l t s h o u l d b e rcxTardcd as simply what It lr. -

a n a f f i d a v i t u n t e s t e d b y c r o s s - z x x n i n a t l o n - and s i lould n o t , .is

was sugges t ed on beha l f o f t he Lpp l i can t s , be rqa rdcd a s 112 , r~ng

no weight a t a l l .

Going back not ional ly t o 2 4 Xovember 1 9 7 6 when t h e

p e t i t i o n was heard , and regard lnq the Cour t as having before It

t h e n t h e f a c t s r e l a t i n g t o s e r v i c e of t h e p r t l t i o n sworn t o t,y

M r . B a r r e t t and by t h e a p p l i c a n t s a n d t h e o t h e r w i t n e s s e s who

gave ev idence on the hea r ing o f t h l s app l i ca t ion , 1 am u n z b l c t o

say the Cour t i s now s a t i s f i e d t h a t t h e p e t i t i o n wzs n o t s t .rv4 o : ~

b o t h a p p l i c a n t s a n d t h a t t h e r e f o r e t h e s e q u e s t r a t l o n o r d e r o ~ q h t

n o t t o have been made,

I t h e r e f o r e d i s m i s s t h e a p p l l c a t i o n , a n d o r d e r t h e

a p p l i c a n t s t o p a y t h e p e t i t i o n i n g c r e d i t o r ' s taxed costs,

i nc lud ing r e se rved costs, of a n d i n c i d e n t a l to t h e nppllcati,T!1.

!