Thompson v Lane (Trustee)

[2021] FCA 1078

FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Thompson v Lane (Trustee) [2021] FCA 1078  

File number:

QUD 113 of 2021

Judgment of:

LOGAN J

Date of judgment:

28 July 2021

Catchwords:

PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE – interlocutory application for production of documents pursuant to r 20.31(3) of the Federal Court Rules 2011 (Cth) – whether applicant is entitled to production of documents pursuant to r 20.31(1) – whether affidavit contains a “mention” or “reference” to a document – where documents either produced, would be produced by the trustee in bankruptcy shortly, or not a document mentioned – interlocutory application dismissed

Legislation:

Bankruptcy Act 1996 (Cth) s 153B

Federal Court Rules 2011 (Cth) r 20.31

Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 1999 (Qld) r 222

Cases cited:

GSM (Operations) Pty Ltd v Suwenda [2010] QSC 33

King v GIO Australia Holdings Ltd [2001] FCA 1487

Quilter v Heatly (1883) 23 Ch D 42

Smith v Harris (1883) 48 LT 869

Division:

General Division

Registry:

Queensland

National Practice Area:

Commercial and Corporations

Sub-area:

General and Personal Insolvency

Number of paragraphs:

32

Date of hearing:

28 July 2021

Counsel for the Applicant:

The Applicant appeared in person

Solicitor for the Respondent:

Shand Taylor Lawyers

Solicitor for the First Interested Person:

Grace Lawyers

Solicitor for the Second Interested Person:

The Second Interested Person did not appear

ORDERS

QUD 113 of 2021

BETWEEN:

EMMA NARELLE CATHRYN THOMPSON

Applicant

AND:

MORGAN LANE AS TRUSTEE OF THE BANKRUPT ESTATE OF EMMA NARELLE CATHRYN THOMPSON

Respondent

BODY CORPORATE FOR ARILA LODGE CTS 14237

Interested Person

MAHONEYS

Interested Person

ORDER MADE BY:	LOGAN J
DATE OF ORDER:	28 JULY 2021

THE COURT ORDERS THAT:

1.The interlocutory application be dismissed.

2.The costs of and incidental to the interlocutory application be the Trustee’s costs in the proceedings.

Note:   Entry of orders is dealt with in Rule 39.32 of the Federal Court Rules 2011.

REASONS FOR JUDGMENT
(REVISED FROM TRANSCRIPT)

LOGAN J:

1. By an application filed on 14 April 2021, Ms Emma Narelle Cathryn Thompson (Ms Thompson), a bankrupt, has made application pursuant to s 153B(1) and (2) of the Bankruptcy Act 1996 (Cth) for an order that her bankruptcy be annulled pursuant to that section on the grounds that her debtor’s petition ought not to have been presented and ought not to have been accepted by the Official Receiver and that a sequestration order made on 1 July 2020 should not have been made.

2. That application has been hitherto case managed by another judge, but more recently allocated to my docket. The annulment application has been set down for hearing on Monday 2 August 2021. In the course of preparing her case in respect of the annulment application, Ms Thompson formed the view that she was entitled pursuant to r 20.31(1) of the Federal Court Rules 2011 (Cth) to the production of particular documents mentioned in an affidavit of her trustee in bankruptcy, Mr Morgan Gerard James Lane, filed on 15 July 2021.

3. The notice is in these terms:

   1.The Report prepared by the Costs Assessor,…