Manu Chhotubhai Bhanabhai and Douglas Mark Andrew Burgress v Commissioner of Inland Revenue - SC 11/2007

Civil appeal – as part of an agreement to settle GST arrears arising from the development of an apartment complex, solicitors for property developers gave an undertaking to the Commissioner of Inland Revenue that arrears would be cleared using proceeds from the sale of certain apartment units – in the event, GST arrears not paid – property developers put into liquidation - liquidators commenced proceedings, to which Commissioner was party, against the directors for reckless trading – proceedings settled in favour of liquidators with large cash payment, although no portion of payment could be applied towards the debt owed to the Commissioner – in separate proceedings, giving rise to present application, Commissioner awarded compensation against solicitors in their personal capacity for breach of undertaking – whether factual findings and reasoning at first instance were incorrect - whether the Court of Appeal erred in treatment of certain evidence going towards the nature of the undertaking – whether, given the antecedent proceedings by the liquidators, the claim by the Commissioner amounted to an abuse of process. CA 218/05 20 December 2006