Adrian has extensive experience in commercial litigation across a range of matters, including corporate and personal insolvency, corporations law disputes, contractual disputes, banking and finance, property and construction.
Adrian’s clients include corporate insolvency (including administrators, liquidators and receivers) and personal insolvency practitioners (bankruptcy trustees), company directors, creditors and advisers.
Adrian represents his clients in mediations, and acts for clients in matters in Victorian Courts, other State Courts, the Federal Court and Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia, and VCAT.
Adrian is a member of the Victorian insolvency and reconstruction CPA discussion group.
Experience
- Advising and acting for liquidators regarding recovery of voidable transaction claims (including unfair preference payments, uncommercial transactions, unreasonable director-related transactions and unfair loans) and insolvent trading claims against directors and holding companies.
- Acting in various court applications and proceedings arising in the insolvency context, including:
- prevention of the deregistration of a substantial mining company to preserve future mining royalties;
- extension of time for liquidators to bring voidable transaction claims;
- examinations of directors and others pursuant to sections 596A & B of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth);
- resistance of appointment of a receiver by purported charge holder;
- retention of title claims and PPSA claims; and
- defending applications to set aside creditors’ statutory demands, and unfair preference claims and insolvent trading claims on behalf of company directors.
- Advising and acting for bankruptcy trustees in the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia regarding recovery of undervalued transactions, transfers to defeat creditors and preference payments, and in relation to property matters, including those arising pursuant to the Family Law Act 1975(Cth).
- Acting for controlling trustees in defending action to set aside a personal insolvency agreement.
- Advising and acting for clients in breach of contract and misleading or deceptive claims.
- Advising and acting for clients on a wide variety of property matters, including commercial leasing disputes (from enforcement of leases to lockouts), adverse possession claims, constructive trust over property, mediations, and VCAT proceedings.
- Advising and acting for banks and finance companies in relation to secured and unsecured recovery actions in relation to various credit facilities.