EVANS & Tate has claimed a big win in its legal tussle with distributor Australian Beverage Distributors Pty Ltd, announcing the NSW Supreme Court had dismissed ABD’s winding up the application. The judgement described the originating process filed by ABD to wind up the winemakers as an abuse of process, Evans and Tate said. It also said the judgement restrained ABD from commencing any further winding up proceedings based on the same “alleged debt”. The court win also included costs being awarded in favour of Evans and Tate, as well as a stay on previous costs awarded to ABD, until litigation between the two parties was finalised. ABD has claimed it is owed $78,000 by Evans & Tate, which has struggled financially for the past 18 months after an acquisition-led growth binge left it floundering when the wine glut damaged the market for Australian produce. At the time WA Business News went to press, shares in Evans and Tate, which had been suspended, were trading at 9.5 cents.
