The Background
The directors of Ranolf were siblings and were heirs to a Rotorua property empire that slowly succumbed to the pressures of time that inevitably undermine all empires. Their company was placed into liquidation on the application of a former lawyer, David Smyth, one of the most charming, if not always best dressed, lawyers ever to ply the legal trade in Auckland.
Our Appointment
Ranolf was trustee company and one of its assets was a block of flats in Ranolf Street. Alas, there were no books and records for this company and our insolvency offices only stumbled across the existence of a trust deed by trolling through the garbage of a discarded premises once owned by the company.
Once this was established Waterstone went to court to have the asset sold to recover the several hundred thousand dollars in outstanding creditors.
The Litigation
The litigation that resulted from this application ran to half a dozen judgements and over twenty court appearances, including three at the Court of Appeal and at one point resulted in an arrest order for the directors;
[11] I direct the issue of an order arresting each of the respondents. The respondents are to be brought before the Court on 5 November 2015 at 9:00 am and until then they are to be kept in safe custody. This order will lie in Court until 2:15 pm on 2 November 2015. It will then be executed unless earlier varied or revoked in accordance with the following direction.
Brewer NZHC 2596
After four years and some precedent setting case law on in-house costs for lawyers, this case was finally settled with the bankruptcy of the directors and all of the creditors being paid in full.
