Matthew Peckham

Federal Court – cross-border subpoena and corporations law issues – resisting application to issue subpoena to non-party foreign corporation, application for Sabre order requiring a corporation to take reasonable steps to obtain documents from an offshore related entity: Kraft Foods Group Brands LLC v Bega Cheese Ltd (No 4) [2018] FCA 1055 (led by Ed Heerey QC);

Federal Court – confidentiality issues – acting for Mondelez Australia in relation to various applications seeking protection of trade secrets in response to a subpoena: Kraft Foods Group Brands LLC v Bega Cheese Ltd (No 3) [2018] FCA 1023 (led by Ed Heerey QC, with Natalie Hickey);

VCAT – interlocutory injunction – successfully obtained a contested injunction concerning the owners corporation of a major apartment complex;

VCAT – breach of contract and Australian Consumer Law claims – acting for the successful party at trial:  Parkhill Industries Pty Ltd v Lui (Civil Claims List) [2017] VCAT 1459;

VCAT – debt for professional services – acting for the successful party at trial: Commercial Resolutions (Aust) Pty Ltd v K-Line Mobile Mechanics Pty Ltd (Civil Claims List) [2017] VCAT 916.

Federal Court – civil penalty – acting for the defendant in the first proceeding brought by ASIC under the Future of Financial Advice laws: ASIC v Golden Financial Group Pty Ltd (formerly NSG Services Pty Ltd) (No 2) [2017] FCA 1267 (led by Jonathon Moore QC);

Supreme Court – administration of superannuation fund – multi-million dollar claim by superannuation fund trustee against fund administrator for recovery of overcharged fees – ongoing (led by Jonathon Moore QC);

Advice – regulation of financial services and managed investment schemes – under Chapter 5C (Managed Investment Schemes) and Chapter 7 (Financial Services and Markets) of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth);

Advice – s 925A of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) – rescission of contract with provider of unlicensed financial services (led by Oren Bigos).

Supreme Court – shareholder oppression – multiple related companies and groups of shareholders, complex corporate governance issues – ongoing;

Supreme Court – shareholder oppression – breaches of director’s duties, successfully opposing the continuation of a freezing order – resolved;

Supreme Court – shareholder oppression – complex valuation issues and 50-50 shareholders – resolved at mediation.

County Court – examination of judgment debtor – where the judgment debtor was a convicted fraud;

Magistrates’ Court – unfair preferences – resisting liquidators’ claim for recovery of unfair preference payments, three-day hearing with expert and lay evidence.

Australian Competition Tribunal – limited merits review – written submissions on behalf of Energy Consumers Australia in a limited merits review proceeding under the National Electricity and Gas Laws: Application by ActewAGL Distribution [2017] ACompT 2.

Advice – National Electricity Market rules – advising the Australian Energy Regulator in relation to statutory interpretation issues and in relation to an ongoing investigation (led by Tom Clarke).

Advice – Victorian electricity licensing regime – advising the Essential Services Commission in relation to statutory interpretation issues.

Advice – electricity distribution determinations – advising Energy Consumers Australia in relation to various issues concerning distribution determinations and subsequent limited merits review proceedings.

Federal Court – judicial review of a decision by the Minister for the Environment and Energy – acting for the Minister in resisting a challenge to enforcement powers under the Fuel Quality Standards Act 2000 (Cth) – appearing unled against a QC in several interlocutory disputes – resolved (initially unled, then led by Rowena Orr QC);

Federal Court – ex parte injunction under the Fuel Quality Standards Act 2000 (Cth) – successfully obtaining an ex parte injunction on behalf of the Minister for Energy and the Environment to prevent the supply of unsafe fuel (pre-2017, appearing as solicitor advocate);

Supreme Court – judicial review of a decision of the County Court – acting for a State regulatory authority resisting review of a decision by the County Court to set aside a subpoena issued in its criminal jurisdiction – also appearing to set aside the subpoena in the criminal proceeding below – ongoing.

Supreme Court – resisting application for stay of decision by VicRoads – acting for VicRoads to resist a stay application, and an appeal from a decision of an associate judge: Marijancevic v VicRoads [2014] VSC 339 (pre-2017, appearing as solicitor advocate).

Magistrates’ Court – merits review of a decision by VicRoads – three-day hearing concerning a truck driver’s fitness to drive following a seizure behind the wheel, with complex medical evidence concerning epilepsy and cardiovascular conditions.

Magistrates’ Court – merits review of a decision by VicRoads – resisting a challenge to the suspension of a vehicle tester’s licence – resolved.

Wood v Astra Resources Ltd [2016] FCA 1192 – acting for foreign liquidators in relation to cross-border insolvency issues (with Ian Thomas as counsel).

ASIC v Astra Resources Ltd (No 2) [2016] FCA 560 - acting for foreign liquidators of an English company, in civil penalty proceedings brought by ASIC against the company in liquidation (with Ian Thomas as counsel).

Beachley Street Pty Ltd v Commonwealth & Ors (2016) Supreme Court - acting for the Commonwealth in a complex multi-party dispute concerning liability for environmental contamination at a former Commonwealth industrial facility (with Tom Howe QC as counsel, settled).

Substantial executive fraud (2016) Supreme Court – leading a covert investigation  in relation to a substantial executive fraud, and successfully obtaining freezing orders (with Andrew Tragardh as counsel).

Investigation regarding 21^st Century ‘land banking’ schemes (2015) – leading the initial stages of a major ASIC investigation into unregistered managed investment schemes.

ASIC v Avestra Asset Management Ltd (2015) Federal Court - leading an ASIC investigation against a licensed operator of managed investment schemes, obtaining orders for the appointment of provisional liquidators (with Jonathon Moore QC and Tom Clarke as counsel).

Marijancevic v Roads Corporation [2014] VSC 339; [2015] VSC 240; [2016] VSCA 181 – successfully defending judicial review proceedings brought against VicRoads in the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal (with Nick Wood as counsel).

Keddel v Roads Corporation (2014) Magistrates Court - merits review under the Road Safety Act, concerning fitness to drive issues after epileptic seizure causing an accident (with Sarala Fitzgerald as counsel).

JSRM v Tertiary Education Quality Standards Agency (2014) AAT – acting for a registered higher education provider in a merits review challenging the cancellation of its registration (with Helen Symon QC, Haroon Hassan and Angel Aleksov as counsel, settled).

Kastrinakis v ACPA [2013] FCA 995 - successful judicial review proceeding against the Australian Community Pharmacy Authority (with Suresh Senathirajah as counsel).

In the matter of FEA Plantations Ltd (subject to DOCA) (receivers appointed) [2013] FCA 1331 – application for winding up of forestry managed investment schemes (with Philip Crutchfield QC and Oren Bigos as counsel).

Forest Enterprises Australia Ltd (subject to DOCA) (receivers and managers appointed) v Tasmanian Plantation Ltd (subject to DOCA) (controllers appointed) & Ors (2013) Supreme Court - acting for receivers of an operator of forestry managed investment schemes, in a proceeding against a class of several thousand scheme members regarding the termination of leasing arrangements and forestry rights (with Philip Crutchfield QC and Oren Bigos as counsel, settled).

Burdett-Baker, in the matter of AFS Group Ltd (in liquidation) v National Australia Bank Ltd & Anor [2013] FCA 799 – application by liquidator for directions regarding determination of third party rights (with Ed Moon and Catherine Gobbo as counsel).

Operation Saturn – R v Mustafa and Ors (2012) – working on the UK’s largest ever successful insider trading prosecution (with Michael Bowes QC and Gillian Jones as counsel).

Casey v State Trustees Ltd (2010) Federal Court - defending an investor class action brought by ASIC in relation to the collapse of the Westpoint Group, bringing 26 third party claims (with Robin Brett QC and Greg Ahern as counsel, settled).