Eric Watson puts up a fight over bankruptcy

Expat businessman Eric Watson. Photo / NZME

Expat businessman Eric Watson appears to be trying to put up a fight over his bankruptcy, BusinessDesk reports.

The liquidators of his Cullen Investments had been chasing him for roughly $57.4 million, plus interest, relating to loans he made to himself from the company.

KPMG took control of the entities just over four years ago after the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) won a tax judgment against it, ruling the group was liable to pay $51.4m.

Cullen Investments was part of Watson’s Cullen Group – a “complex” structure of entities spanning NZ and other jurisdictions, including the British Virgin Islands, the United Kingdom and the United States.

In February last year, Justice Neil Campbell accepted liquidators Leon Bowker and Luke Norman’s summary judgment of $59.9m against Watson.

That was after it took the pair nearly a year to serve documents on him, with a high court judgment describing the former Warriors and Hanover owner as “elusive and obstructive”.

After the summary judgment, Bowker and Norman began bankruptcy proceedings, which was called at the high court at Auckland on Thursday before Associate Judge Clive Taylor.

In the brief hearing, Simpson Grierson’s Sophie Hawkesworth appeared for the liquidators. Jack Cundy made an appearance for Watson.

Hawkesworth told the court that Watson had filed an application protesting the court’s jurisdiction, and the liquidators intended to file an interlocutory application and sought timetable orders.

She said Watson had evaded service for nearly two years, and they’d like to avoid any further delay. But Cundy said Watson’s supposed evasion was “not accepted”. However, leading to Thursday’s hearing, the liquidators had to serve Watson again.

BusinessDesk previously reported court documents show Watson was served in July by email, but it bounced back, indicating the email address had been deactivated.

It also appears a private investigator physically served him, but the full details are redacted.

Instead, a memorandum updating the court briefly mentioned “under the front gate at the address”, with a report from Secure Collections and Investigations sent to Simpson Grierson saying Watson was served on July 20 in the early evening. Judge Taylor declined timetabling orders, saying he’d be issuing a minute on the matter later on Thursday.