Eight hundred people lost their jobs when refinery Queensland Nickel became insolvent in 2016. Townsville, the locale of the refinery, found itself in financial peril after the collapse. Mayor Jenny Hill explains that the closure caused expansive economic and social issues that have still not been fully mitigated. The city claims to be owed $2.5 million by parent company QNI Metals.
An LFJ Conversation with Michael Kelley, Partner, Parker Poe
Eight hundred people lost their jobs when refinery Queensland Nickel became insolvent in 2016. Townsville, the locale of the refinery, found itself in financial peril after the collapse. Mayor Jenny Hill explains that the closure caused expansive economic and social issues that have still not been fully mitigated. The city claims to be owed $2.5 million by parent company QNI Metals.
ABC News Australia reports that four years later, courts are only now determining that liquidators will not succeed in getting payment from owner Clive Palmer. A judge has ruled that the company was insolvent before liquidators were called in. Some suspect that there’s more information to be discovered here, though it’s unclear under what context that would take place.
Perhaps the most striking aspect of this case is that Palmer has vowed to seek $50 million in compensation from prominent litigation funder Vannin Capital. Vannin entered a funding agreement with liquidators FTI Consulting attempting to secure funds from Palmer and Queensland Nickel. Palmer has stated that his company, Mineralogy, has lost millions of dollars because of this case and that Vannin and John Park owe him restitution.
Interestingly, Palmer had previously requested that courts let him pay his remaining creditors directly. He sought to avoid paying FTI Consulting, who would then remit a percentage to Vannin. In addition to FTI Consulting, several other liquidators are currently seeking remittance on a flurry of other matters.
