Tennant Limited v Flomin Inc

Tennant Limited applied to set aside a statutory demand issued by Flomin Inc. The dispute before the court centred on the extent to which a genuine dispute must be revealed in the supporting affidavit for the application to be successful, and whether the debt claimed was "due and payable" at the time the demand was served. Additionally, the court considered whether Tennant's offsetting claims could be taken into account in determining the amount that was "due and payable". The court found that the applicant had disclosed a genuine dispute in its affidavit, but had not demonstrated that the debt claimed was not due and payable at the time of service. The court also found that offsetting claims could be considered in determining the amount that was due and payable. The court varied the statutory demand to reflect the amount that was actually due and payable, pursuant to section 459H.

The court held that the affidavit in support of the application to set aside the statutory demand must disclose a genuine dispute in sufficient detail to enable the respondent to respond to it. However, the court need not be satisfied that the dispute is likely to succeed; it is sufficient if the dispute is not frivolous or vexatious. The court also held that the debt claimed in the statutory demand must be due and payable at the time of service, but that offsetting claims can be taken into account in determining the amount that is due and payable. The court varied the demand to reflect the amount that was actually due and payable, having regard to the offsetting claims.