Peter Gray SC and John Gooley represented the successful plaintiff, the Commissioner of State Revenue, in the Federal Court in Commissioner of State Revenue v Gleeson [2024] FCA 908, a decision handed down by Markovic J on 15 August 2024.
The court held that the Chief Commissioner, who is pursuing unpaid payroll tax in an alleged phoenix scheme, had established the grounds under s 445D(1)(e) and (f)(ii) of the Corporations Act, with the result that a Deed of Company Arrangement (DOCA) was terminated, and the insolvent company placed in liquidation. In exercising the discretion to terminate the DOCA, the court noted (among other things) that the company had no employees and that the majority of creditors supporting the DOCA were related to or associated with the company.
See the judgement here: https://www.judgments.fedcourt.gov.au/judgments/Judgments/fca/single/2024/2024fca0908