NSW Enforcing VCAT Order Against Pty Ltd Owned by a Large Company?

[macg]

Hello,

I have won a case in VCAT (Victoria) against a Pty Ltd company in NSW. I am now trying to enforce the order as the judgement debtor is ignoring me.

I am (I hope) rather clear on the process itself having read through http://www.lawassist.lawaccess.nsw.gov.au website and talked to them on the phone. I have also already registered the VCAT order with the local court in Sydney.

What I am not sure about is who exactly to go after to enforce this order. The judgment debtor is large Pty Ltd owned by another even larger Pty Ltd. The registered office is the same, the telephone is the same.

So my first question would be, can I go after the "ultimate holding company" as named in the ASIC extract, or should I go directly after the judgement debtor? I'm afraid that in the latter case, all bank accounts and office equipment (if I take the writ for the levy of property route) will turn out to be held/owned by the holding company with the actual debtor being an empty shell.

(I've spent sometime googling around but most information on enforcing NCAT orders is when the judgement debtor is an individual or a small company).

Thanks in avance for any advice!

Mac

 

[Sarah J]

Hi macg,

You would enforce against the judgment debtor. It is whoever is named on the VCAT order/court judgment.

You can enforce by giving them notice and waiting for them to respond voluntarily. Further, apply to court for an enforcement order (have you already done this?)

This page on "enforcement of orders" may be helpful. Whilst it is based off Victorian jurisdiction, it is relevant to NSW as the procedures should be the same.

 

[macg]

Hi Sarah J,

You can enforce by giving them notice and waiting for them to respond voluntarily. Further, apply to court for an enforcement order (have you already done this?)

Thanks for your reply. I haven't applied for an enforcement order yet, because I needed more information to decide whether to apply for a garnishee order or writ for levy of property. I will probably go for the latter, as for garnishee I would need first do examination notice and order to obtain the details of the company's bank account. I may still need to do this if the sheriff fails to seize anything from them (as I mentioned I suspect their office equipment may actually belong to the their holding company, not them).

Waiting for their voluntary response in my case is probably a waste of time, as one day after the court hearing they called me and told me that they are not going to pay (I reckon they count on me not willing to follow through with the enforcement).

This page on "enforcement of orders" may be helpful. Whilst it is based off Victorian jurisdiction, it is relevant to NSW as the procedures should be the same.

Thanks, I've read it. It had some useful information, though as most information that can be found on the internet it seems to assume the judgment debtor is an individual. But it was useful nonetheless.

Thanks,

Mac

 

[Sarah J]

Glad you found the advice/page useful in some respect.

Do you have anything in writing that supports your telephone conversation with them where they stated they would not be paying? If not, write to them (via email will suffice) requesting payment again. It would be best to have their refusal to pay in writing so that you may produce this to the police/court as support for their unwillingness to act when you seek the enforcement order.

 

[Rod]

Also document the call you received when they said they would not pay. List date/time of call, who made the call, who you spoke to and the contents of the discussion. Print/save/photograph the phone record from a smart phone log, it also helps.