Albarran and Pleash repay mystery $16k

ONE consequence of Justice Ashley Black's recent judgement in the matter of Joe & Joe Developments has been the repayment of a curious and unexplained invoice that Joe & Joe's deed administrator Richard Albarran authorised be paid on June 16, 2009.

The invoice came from Shalton Consulting, an entity associated with Dinimus Capital's principal and founder, Oliver Trajcevski. Hall Chadwick partner Blair Pleash told a recent court hearing that his colleague Albarran authorised payment of the invoice in the sum of $16,855.91.

The hearing was a consequence of one of Joe & Joe's shareholders suing Pleash and Albarran for allegedly handling the company's affairs in a manner prejudicial to the interests of its members and shareholders. In Justice Black's judgement, the Shalton payment came in for special attention.

"In my view, a proper basis has been established for an order that Messrs Albarran and Pleash should repay the amount of the payment to Shalton Investments to the Company (Joe & Joe), leaving them to any rights that they may in turn have against Shalton Investments."

What is interesting about the judge's order is the reference to Shalton Investments. According to the deed administrator's cash book, the payment was made to Shalton Consulting.

Court hears of "disturbing" mystery payment

Oliver Trajcevski - invoiced
Richard Albarran for mystery
$16,000

DAY one of the hearing into the conduct of Richard Albarran and Blair Pleash as deed administrators of Joe & Joe Developments began yesterday with counsel for the plaintiffs asking how the company’s surplus become a shortfall.

It’s a fair question. When Joe & Joe was brought to the Hall Chadwick duo in early 2009 the only problem that appeared unsolvable was the dispute between the company’s two shareholders, the Kossaifi and Elias families.

Financially, Joe & Joe virtually creaked under the weight of its assets, which comprised a largely completed mixed residential and commercial development at North Narrabeen. By comparison, its liabilities represented a wafer of total value.

Sick of the bickering the Koassaifis asked their laywer, Farshad Amirbeaggi, to find someone who could undertake a voluntary liquidation. Neither they or the Elias family had any sense that their company was insolvent, or likely to become so.

The Koassaifi plan was to liquidate the assets, pay out the creditors and distribute the surplus – estimated at one point at more than $2 million – between the two families. Liquidation however posed a problem for the Elias family’s builder’s license. On February 9, 2009 the company was placed into voluntary administration. Pleash and Albarran were appointed joint VAs.

Since their appointment as voluntary administrators and then as administrators of a Deed of Company Arrangement (DoCA) on March 31, 2009, Hall Chadwick and its lawfirm Etienne Lawyers have allegedly billed Joe & Joe more than $1.5 million in fees and disbursements. The administrators, who argue it is significantly less, blame the families for preventing them from achieving a resolution.

Well before the fees reached this level though the Elias family lashed out, suing Pleash and Albarran for handling the DoCA in a way that was prejudicial to the interests of the company’s creditors and members. The Elias family want Albarran and Pleash removed as deed administrators and they want the court to rule that the fees are excessive. The defendants, Pleash and Albarran, reject the allegations.