Re Watson Road Moss Vale Developments Pty Ltd

The case of Re Watson Road Moss Vale Developments Pty Ltd involved a winding up application initiated against the company, predicated on the presumption of insolvency arising from its failure to comply with a statutory demand. The matter was heard in the Federal Circuit Court of Australia. The primary dispute centred on whether the statutory demand was effectively served on the company, which would trigger the presumption of insolvency due to non-compliance. The company argued that the statutory demand was not received, contending that mail sent to its registered office was diverted to the post office under an arrangement between the company and the post office.

The legal issues before the court encompassed the validity of service of the statutory demand and whether the presumption of insolvency could be rebutted based on evidence suggesting that the mail was not received on the fourth business day following posting. The company sought to demonstrate that there was doubt about the receipt of the statutory demand, given the conflicting evidence regarding the sending and receipt of the mail. The court needed to determine if the company had provided sufficient evidence to cast doubt on the presumption of service.

In reaching its decision, the court considered the evidence presented regarding the arrangement between the company and the post office, which indicated that mail could be diverted away from the company's registered office. The court held that the evidence provided was sufficient to raise a doubt about the presumption that mail was received on the fourth business day after posting. Consequently, the presumption of insolvency arising from non-compliance with the statutory demand was not established, and the application for winding up was dismissed.