Seymour Whyte Constructions Pty Ltd v Ostwald Bros Pty Ltd (in Liquidation)

Seymour Whyte Constructions Pty Ltd (the appellant) sought leave to appeal against a judgment of Stevenson J in favour of Ostwald Bros Pty Ltd (in Liquidation) (the respondent). The core of the dispute concerned the appellant's desire to commence an appeal against a prior decision, and whether this application should be adjourned pending the finalisation of accounts between the appellant and the company in liquidation.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether to grant the appellant leave to commence its appeal against the decision of Stevenson J, given the ongoing liquidation of Ostwald Bros Pty Ltd. A related consideration was whether the application for leave should be adjourned to allow the liquidator to settle the accounts between the parties.

Sackville AJA granted the appellant leave to commence its appeal. This decision was made *nunc pro tunc*, meaning it was granted with retrospective effect from the date the appeal should have been filed. The court determined that granting leave was appropriate, implicitly finding that any concerns regarding the liquidation's progress did not necessitate an adjournment of the appeal application itself. The court ordered that pursuant to s 500(2) of the *Corporations Act 2001* (Cth), the appellant was granted leave to commence its appeal against the decision of Stevenson J given on 5 April 2018.