Charlie Hodgetts

Expertise

Charlie is a commercial disputes practitioner with extensive experience advising state and federal government departments and commercial clients across a range of industries in all State and Federal jurisdictions. He specialises in complex corporate and personal insolvency matters, routinely acting on behalf of liquidators, administrators, receivers and bankruptcy trustees in a variety of insolvency related proceedings.

Charlie also advises clients involved in the insolvency process, including on debt recovery options and defending claims brought by insolvency practitioners. He works closely with clients to develop practical strategies to mitigate risk and protect their interests during external administrations.

Charlie also acts on behalf of clients in complex commercial disputes and litigious matters across a variety of areas, including:

• Corporate disputes involving breaches of director duties, shareholder oppression claims and breaches of share sale agreements.
• Property, leasing and development disputes involving exercise of put and call options, termination of leases by re-entry, obtaining and defending injunctive relief claims for various property related disputes, sale and acquisition of land disputes and recovery of outstanding rental arrears and other damages arising from breaches of commercial and residential tenancies.
• Trade practices disputes involving the enforcement of suppliers and manufacturers terms and conditions, misleading or deceptive conduct claims and breach of warranty claims under the Australian Consumer Law.
• Enforcing securities over borrowers on behalf of private lenders, including exercising powers of seizure and sale.
• Personal property securities issues which arise in a variety of different corporate transactions and insolvency matters.

Known for his pragmatic and commercially focused approach, Charlie ensures his clients have a clear understanding of all aspects of their matter, enabling them to make informed and effective commercial decisions.

Experience

Charlie’s experience includes:

• advising New South Wales Government Department in respect of its outstanding royalties owed by a mining company which entered liquidation, including considering strategies to mitigate its risk in recovering its debt
• acting in freezing order proceedings including successfully obtaining orders to amend the terms of the freezing order
• acting for a prominent landlord/developer against a tenant for breach of lease, including claims for unpaid rental amounts, rental payments for the remainder of the term of the lease and successfully defending claims that claw back provisions of the lease for rent free and carparking licence fee free incentives were penalties
• successfully obtaining judgment in the Supreme Court of Queensland on behalf of the purchases of an earthmoving and engineering company in respect of breaches of the share sale agreement by the vendor, including breach of warranties and breaches of the consumer law including misleading and deceptive conduct
• acting on behalf of large rural fencing and livestock equipment company in relation to an alleged improper appointment of administrator resulting from shareholder dispute, involving:
  • challenging administrator’s application for remuneration on grounds of improper appointment in the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal proceedings;
  • drafting of and administering deed of company arrangement;
  • obtaining orders from the Court for leave for transfer of shares of company for no value under section 444GA;
  • appointment of new trustee for the family trust being the beneficial shareholder of the company;
  • preparing application to ASIC for approval as authorised person to conduct Public Examination under the Corporations Act; and
  • preparing draft application and summons on various parties in respect of company dealings, drafting summons and instructing Counsel to appear for public examination.