The caveat “strangling” Rod Petricevic will remain against his Remuera home ahead of a February High Court trial.Associate judge of the High Court John Faire has ordered the caveat against the Remuera Rd property would not lapse before the tri
The caveat “strangling” Rod Petricevic will remain against his Remuera home ahead of a February High Court trial.
Associate judge of the High Court John Faire has ordered the caveat against the Remuera Rd property would not lapse before the trial in which one of Mr Petricevic’s former finance companies is seeking to reclaim a $2.25 million loan it said it made to the Petricevic Family Trust.
Lawyers for the bankrupt former Bridgecorp chairman were in the High Court at Auckland yesterday, setting the timetable for the February trial.
Liquidators for Navigator Finance seeking to recover an unsecured $2.25 million advance to trust that it said was not repaid before the finance company, of which Mr Petricevic was a shareholder and director, was tipped into liquidation in early June.
Navigator’s liquidators, Corporate Finance, swiftly moved to place a caveat, banning sale of property, against Mr Petricievic’s 253 Remuera Rd home on June 21, with capital value of $4.4 million.
But lawyers for Mr Petricevic say no money changed hands and the caveat was “strangling” the trust, which had no money to fund the litigation.
Corporate Finance yesterday withdrew the summary judgement application against the trust, which had the potential to bankrupt Mr Petricevic’s wife Mary if the debt was not paid.
But it will still pursue the $2.2 million loan in a three-day trial set down for February 28.
Mr Petricevic was bankrupted in August 2008.
The judgement of associate judge Faire, released last night, noted the caveat had the effect of tying up a substantial asset of the trust and therefore he had decided to defer ruling on responsibility of payment of costs related to the application that the caveat not lapse, until the February trial.
Mr Petricevic’s $120,000 Porsche was the subject of a similar legal row last year before it was eventually seized by receivers PricewaterhouseCoopers and sold.
The black 2005 Porsche 911 Carrera S Cabriolet had been transferred to the Petricevic Family Trust three days before the Bridgecorp companies collapsed in July 2007, owing investors more than $450 million.
Mr Petricevic also faces a High Court trial in July next year in relation to criminal charges by the Serious Fraud Office and the Securities Commission over the Bridgecorp collapse.
