Re O C Developments Pty Ltd

The Supreme Court of Queensland dealt with an application by O.C. Developments Pty Ltd (ACN 071 905 621) to remove a statutory demand made by Claudia De Maria and to lift a caveat over its property. The applicant company is involved in land development and holds substantial loans from Westpac, which threatens to call in its debt. The respondent, Claudia De Maria, was formerly a director of the company but has since been removed. She lodged a caveat over the company's land and issued a statutory demand.

The legal issues before the court were whether the statutory demand should be struck out and whether the caveat over the company's property should be removed. The court needed to determine if the respondent had a legitimate claim to a residual equitable interest in the property, which would justify the statutory demand and the caveat. The company argued that the respondent's contributions to the purchase of the property had been adequately compensated, and that she had no basis for claiming a residual interest.

Derrington J concluded that while there was a reasonably arguable case that the respondent’s loan might not be immediately repayable, it was not sufficient to justify the statutory demand. The court decided to strike out the statutory demand but on conditions that would protect the respondent's interest until the matter was resolved through appropriate legal proceedings. Regarding the caveat, the court found that there was no caveatable interest behind it. The respondent had likely received full consideration for her contributions to the purchase of the land, and her subsequent conduct did not support a claim for a residual equitable interest. Consequently, the court ordered the caveat to be lifted, as its presence was detrimental to the company's operations.