Event and Time
Event Description
On 28 January 2022, the court delivered a Principal Judgment, finding the defendants (the Viterra Parties) liable for misleading or deceptive conduct and common law deceit, resulting in a compensation award for the plaintiff, Cargill Australia Ltd (Cargill Australia), quantified at $168.9 million. Subsequently, the court addressed the issue of whether interest should be awarded on this amount.
Application and Claims
Cargill Australia sought interest on the awarded damages, while the Viterra Parties contested the calculation of interest and claimed delays in the proceedings, arguing that they should be exempt from interest accruing during specific periods.
Judicial Decisions
The court decided that the Viterra Parties must pay interest on the judgment amount of $168.9 million, calculated according to section 60(1) of the Supreme Court Act 1986 (Vic) at the penalty interest rate determined under the Penalty Interest Rates Act 1983 (Vic). The interest, amounting to $124,229,320.30, would run from 1 October 2014 until 25 February 2022.
Dispute Points and Legal Basis
Dispute Points
- Cargill Australia:
- Claimed entitlement to interest on the awarded damages from the commencement of the proceedings. - Argued that delays were not significant enough to prevent interest accrual.
- Viterra Parties:
- Contended that they had “good cause” for not allowing full interest due to delays caused by Cargill's applications and actions throughout the trial. - Identified three specific periods during which they argued interest should not accrue: 1. Delay due to adjournment requests by Cargill for new counsel. 2. Delay related to document access issues. 3. Delay from unavailability of witnesses and parallel trials.