Sandys Swim Pty Ltd v Morgan

Sandys Swim Pty Ltd filed an application to set aside a statutory demand made by Mr Morgan. The application was brought under section 459G of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth). The dispute centred on whether the statutory demand was valid and whether there were genuine disputes or offsetting claims between the parties. The Federal Court was tasked with determining whether the application to set aside the statutory demand was made within the required 21-day period and whether there was a genuine dispute or offsetting claim that warranted setting aside the demand.
The court had to resolve three issues: whether the application was served within 21 days of the statutory demand being served, whether there was a genuine dispute about the debt identified in the demand, and whether there was a genuine offsetting claim. The court found that the application was not served within the required 21 days. Furthermore, the court found no evidence of a genuine dispute or offsetting claim. Consequently, the court held that the statutory demand was valid and dismissed the application.

The court ordered that the application be dismissed and directed the parties to provide written submissions on appropriate costs and other consequential orders by 20 January 2023. The entry of orders was dealt with in Rule 39.32 of the Federal Court Rules 2011.