Blake v Leondiou

In the matter of Blake v Leondiou, the plaintiff, Ms Blake, sought to establish her 80 per cent beneficial interest in a property purchased jointly with the first defendant, Mr Leondiou, and the second defendant, a company incorporated by Mr Leondiou. The case before the court centred on the recoverability of interest on the principal sum awarded to Ms Blake, which was agreed to be $98,235. The dispute involved determining the basis for interest, the appropriate interest rate, and whether compound interest should apply.

The court had to decide whether the interest could be claimed as damages for the loss of use of monies, as part of restitution, or pursuant to section 30C of the Supreme Court Act 1925 (SA). The court also needed to determine the correct rate of interest and whether it should be compounded. Ms Blake argued for the recoverability of interest as damages for the loss of use of her funds, citing her evidence of borrowing from her daughter and the use of bank accounts and inheritance to fund her contribution.

The court concluded that it was appropriate to apply the Court interest rates rather than the cash management account rates. The Court interest rates were applied to the principal sum of $98,235 from 31 January 2008 to 19 July 2012, resulting in total interest of $21,846. The court found that compound interest was not appropriate in this case. The final orders of the court granted judgment in favour of Ms Blake for the total amount of $120,081, which included the principal sum and the calculated interest. The court reserved the question of costs for further discussion between the parties.