When reporting Sign industry winding-ups, it is often a tale of slow decline, bad debts and/or bad management. Not so with Coburg, Melbourne sign shop Vogue Signs: the application for winding up stems from a family dispute going back years and the plaintiff, a lawyer, is seeking to recoup legal fees incurred while he was in bankruptcy.
As sign businesses go, Peter Dessmann's Vogue Signs is the perfect example of trade skills, entrepreneurship and a long-term commitment to the industry. A graduate of the Melbourne College of Signwriting, he went on to work as a labourer and installer for three Melbourne sign companies before joining Vogue Signs over 30 years ago, where he is now Managing Director.
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| Vogue's Coburg premises, 'going great' |
Vogue's signwork covers great vehicle wraps for organisations such as Jim's Group, Ryco and McDonald's; retail signage, illuminated and fabricated signs and a host of general signage work for local SMEs of all kinds. Despite Covid's impact, Vogue says that 'Business is going great.'
So, it was with great surprise that we received an ASIC notification of a winding-up order (not administration or liquidation) sought against Vogue Signs and its parent company Dessco Pty Ltd. Companies in trouble usually go through the administration process before winding-up if they can not be turned-around or come up with a Deed of Company Arrangement (DOCA).
Since January 1st 2021 there are further protections for smaller companies who owe less than $1 million - similar to the USA's Chapter 11 'Debtor in Possession' protections.
So, who is seeking to wind-up Vogue Displays? ASIC lists the Plaintiff as John Patrick Davey, with the hearing set down for 10:30am on February 17th. Further investigation reveals that John Patrick Davey, an immigration lawyer, is a cousin of Peter Dessmann, and further checks with the Victorian Supreme Court shows past litigation by Davey in an attempt to recover around $18,000 of alleged 'legal fees.' There are also questions surrounding a payment of $100,000 by Dessco to Davey and whether this was a 'gift' or for legal fees.
However, John Davey was made bankrupt between 2014-2017; an extension of bankruptcy to 2022 was sought and granted, then rescinded on appeal. It was claimed that the fees were incurred without Dessco's knowledge that John Davey was an undischarged bankrupt at the time, and that he could not have acted for them in his own name because of this.
So it gets complicated. The complication is exacerbated by John Davey's estrangement from his father and a family trust, called Teddington Trust, of which he is main beneficiary. The lawyer acting for the father's interests, Mr Ronald Silverstein, also acts for Peter Dessmann/Vogue and has been highly critical of his fellow lawyer's behaviour, and even had to defend a Contempt of Court action initiated by John Davey in November 2019, subsequently dismissed. Mr Davey, while practicing in the ACT in 2013-14, was subject to a disciplinary Tribunal and received public reprimands from the ACT Law Society and was ordered to pay costs.
The bottom line is that the business of Vogue Signs is in great shape and doing great work and that its owners, Dessco, are hopeful that the application for winding-up will be dismissed on February 17th. It's regrettable to see family breakdowns impacting businesses and we wish the parties well for an equitable outcome.
