Catchwords

ADMINISTRATION OF PROPERTY – PROOF OF DEBTS – WHAT DEBTS PROVABLE – DAMAGES – where appellants’ claim for unliquidated damages could have been brought in contract or by an alternative cause of action – proper construction of s 82(2) Bankruptcy Act 1966 (Cth) –where legislation requires the contract or promise to constitute an essential element of the cause of action to satisfy the term “by reason of” – whether appellants’ claim arose “by reason of” a contract or promise under s 82(2)

PROCEDURE – COURTS AND JUDGES GENERALLY – DECISIONS OF PARTICULAR COURTS – STATE AND TERRITORY SUPREME COURTS – EFFECT OF DECISIONS OF SUPREME COURT OF ANOTHER STATE – where learned trial judge’s interpretation of s 82(2) Bankruptcy Act 1966 (Cth) accorded with intermediate appellate authority – where this court, as intermediate appellate court, is bound to follow the interpretation placed on a provision of uniform national legislation by another such court unless plainly wrong – whether interpretation of s 82(2) set out in Aliferis v Kyriacou [2000] 1 VR 447 should be followed

CORPORATIONS LAW – CORPORATE FINANCE – SHARES – VALUATION – where appellants argue that the learned trial judge did not perform the task of ascertaining the value of the options in accordance with well established principles – where expert evidence given as to valuation techniques and principles – where learned trial judge relied on principle of “blockage” in prescribing a value to the shares – whether error disclosed in reasoning of learned trial judge