Bank of China Ltd v C.G.S (Group) Pty Ltd

Bank of China Ltd sued C.G.S (Group) Pty Ltd and its managing director for the balance of an account after the bank issued and honoured letters of credit in 1998. The matter was heard in the Federal Court of Australia. The primary dispute was whether certain contractual documents, including General Banking Facility Agreements (GBFA) and a Guarantee and Indemnity, gave rise to causes of action that were founded on a deed, and if the limitation period for enforcing these causes of action had expired.

The court had to decide whether the GBFA and Guarantee documents constituted deeds and, if so, whether the bank's claim was subject to a 12-year limitation period. The bank argued that since it had multiple contractual promises to pay the same debt, each of these promises could be enforced separately, with the limitation period varying according to whether the promise was based on a simple contract or a deed. The court also considered whether a written acknowledgement of the debt by the defendant could restart the limitation period.

The court held that some of the GBFA and Guarantee documents did indeed give rise to causes of action founded on a deed, and that the 12-year limitation period had not expired at the time of the suit. The court found that the bank could enforce each of the several contractual promises to pay the same debt, subject to the applicable limitation period, which varied depending on whether the promise was founded on a simple contract or a deed. The court further determined that the written acknowledgement did not need to be relied upon by the bank to enforce the claims.

The court ordered that the bank could proceed with its claims in relation to the GBFA and Guarantee documents, subject to the 12-year limitation period for deeds. The specific orders made by the court were not detailed in the provided text.