Directors, Solicitor fined for contempt of court

Two directors of Venture Industries Pty Ltd and their solicitor were today fined a total of $30,000 and ordered to pay costs for contempt of court over the mortgage and disposal of properties which were subject to court undertakings.

In the NSW Supreme Court Justice Rolfe fined directors Harry Kioussis and Penny Kioussis $3,500 for each of three contempts and their solicitor Nick Milios, $4,500 for each of two contempts.

The fines arose out of a representative action undertaken by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission on behalf of seven couples over home-building contracts. In that action, for misleading or deceptive conduct, damages plus interest of more than $1.6 million were awarded against Collings Constructions Co Pty Limited, Venture, one Collings director and two Venture directors (the Kioussises). As part of the proceedings, the Kioussises undertook not to dispose or encumber properties under their control without notifying the ACCC.

Despite these undertakings, some properties were mortgaged and sold without the ACCC's knowledge and the ACCC brought contempt proceedings. In making his judgment, Justice Rolfe said that the Court was entitled to expect that undertakings solemnly given to it will be honoured.

'In the present case, they were not. They [the defendants] were not in circumstances where there is absolutely no explanation for the conduct, other than the inference which flows from it of a deliberate and wilful intention to flout the undertakings for the commercial benefit, certainly in the first instance, of Mr Kioussis and Ms Kioussis.'

ACCC Chairman, Professor Allan Fels, said today's decision was warning that the ACCC would be persistent where it was pursuing money on behalf of consumers.

'The ACCC takes very seriously any breach of undertakings or orders.'