Robert Balzola and Associates v Hoskin

Robert Balzola and Associates (the creditor) filed a creditor's petition seeking a sequestration order against the estate of Hoskin. The dispute concerned whether the creditor had established the necessary preconditions for the court to make such an order. The matter was heard by Judge Street in the relevant court.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether the creditor had satisfied the requirements of section 43 of the *Bankruptcy Act* for the making of a sequestration order. This involved determining whether an act of bankruptcy had occurred and whether the creditor's petition was validly filed in relation to that act of bankruptcy.

Judge Street found that the evidence presented to the court sufficiently established that an act of bankruptcy had occurred. The court was satisfied that the contention that the creditor's petition was filed prior to the commission of the act of bankruptcy lacked substance. Consequently, the court concluded that the petitioning creditor had established all the matters required under section 43 of the *Bankruptcy Act*. A sequestration order was therefore made.