Sanofi-Aventis Australia v Kartono

In the Federal Court of Australia, Sanofi-Aventis Australia, a pharmaceutical company, sued Kartono, a minor, to recover damages for breach of contract. The dispute arose from a contract between the plaintiff and Kartono's father, who was the sole director of a company. After the company went into liquidation, Sanofi-Aventis Australia sued the company and Kartono. The company had been dissolved, but Sanofi-Aventis Australia sought to hold Kartono personally liable for the debts of the company. The legal issues were whether a minor can be subject to a resulting or constructive trust and whether the rule forbidding taking any step in proceedings against a person under legal incapacity following service of originating process until a tutor has been appointed applies to making a Mareva order against a minor at the time of institution of proceedings against that minor.

The court held that a minor could be subject to a resulting or constructive trust, and that the rule forbidding taking any step in proceedings against a person under legal incapacity following service of originating process until a tutor has been appointed does not apply to making a Mareva order against a minor at the time of institution of proceedings against that minor. The court found that the minor had received trust property from his father and that a resulting trust arose in favour of Sanofi-Aventis Australia. The court also found that the minor had received property from his father subject to a constructive trust in favour of Sanofi-Aventis Australia. The court held that the rule in question did not apply to the making of a Mareva order against a minor at the time of institution of proceedings against that minor because the order was not an action against the minor but rather a preservation of assets that belonged to the minor. The court granted the Mareva order against Kartono.

The court ordered that the Mareva injunction be continued against Kartono and that the father be appointed as Kartono's tutor ad litem for the purposes of the proceeding. The court also ordered that Sanofi-Aventis Australia recover its costs of the proceeding.