Our South Australian client listed his boat with a marine broker to sell it for him.
The broker found a buyer and was paid in full. But it only passed on part of the money to our client, and then went into liquidation.
With the company gone, it looked like the rest of his money had gone with it. ezylegal went after the company’s director personally, on a no-win, no-fee* basis. Our client was paid in full before it got to court.
At a glance
- Problem: A boat broker sold our client’s boat, paid him only part of the sale money, then put the company into liquidation.
- Claim against: The broker company’s sole director, personally.
- Legal basis: The sale money was held on trust for our client, and the director breached his fiduciary duty by not keeping it safe and paying it over.
- Result: 100% of the outstanding money recovered, before any court action was filed.
The boat sold. The money didn’t arrive.
Our client signed an agency agreement with the broker to sell his boat and trailer. The broker sold it, took its commission, and confirmed the balance was due to him.
The money came in two part-payments over the following weeks. Then the director put the company into liquidation, with thousands of dollars of our client’s money still unpaid.
Going after the director
Usually, when a company goes into liquidation, the people it owes join a long queue and get cents in the dollar, if anything.
But money from the sale of a client’s boat isn’t the broker’s money. It’s held on trust for the owner. As the company’s sole director and the person who controlled its bank accounts, the director was responsible for making sure our client’s money was kept safe and paid over.
ezylegal prepared a claim against the director personally. The director lived interstate, so we served him with a formal Final Notice through the South Australian courts. That’s the step you have to take before suing in South Australia.
The outcome
Faced with a personal claim, the director paid our client the full amount outstanding. No court case was needed.
Can I get my money back if a broker or agent goes into liquidation?
Often, yes. If the agent was holding your money on trust, it isn’t part of the company’s assets, and the director can be personally responsible for it.
Brokers and agents who collect sale money for you usually hold it on your behalf, not as their own. If that money is spent or mixed with the business’s other funds, the director who controlled it can be held personally responsible. That gives you a way to recover your money without waiting in line with the company’s other creditors.
If you’re facing something similar
If a broker or agent has sold something for you but hasn’t paid you:
- keep your agency agreement, the contract of sale and any settlement statement
- ask for the money in writing, with a clear deadline
- check the company’s details on the ASIC register, including its director
- if the company goes into liquidation, get advice quickly about claiming against the director
Get advice early, because time limits apply. Read more about debt and contract disputes.
ezylegal operates on a no-win, no-fee* basis across consumer, commercial and insurance disputes, so you’re not weighing the cost of a lawyer against the cost of walking away.