A challenge to an English legal-fees judgment has failed to dislodge a bankruptcy notice in Australia, where the debt had been registered for enforcement.
On October 15, the Federal Court dismissed Anna St Clair’s application to review a registrar’s decision concerning a notice issued at the request of Irwin Mitchell LLP. She was ordered to pay the firm’s costs.
The dispute began with unpaid legal work and a 2023 English default judgment. Attempts to overturn that judgment or its Australian registration had already failed.
St Clair pointed to a further application for permission to appeal in England. Justice Goodman said unresolved litigation alone was insufficient: there had to be genuine and reasonable grounds for questioning the judgment debt. No stay was in place.
The court also distinguished a bankruptcy notice from a sequestration order. Leaving the notice intact is not itself a declaration that the debtor is bankrupt. Arguments about the effect of bankruptcy on other claims could be considered if a sequestration application followed.
Official judgment, St Clair [2026] FCA 1526.
