Guarantors as ‘privies’ of a principal debtor – can they be bound by a decision of a Court in circumstances where they are not a party to litigation?
Co-authored by Andrew Kirby and Kieran Hickie: Guarantors commonly have some association or relationship with a principal debtor. If proceedings are taken against a principal debtor, but not a guarantor, resulting in a binding judgment, the Victorian Supreme Court has recently held that in subsequent proceedings against a guarantor, the guarantor is not a ‘privy’ of the principal debtor and therefore is not bound by the determination of issues in the earlier proceeding.