Campaspe Investments Pty Ltd v PBP Accounting Solutions Pty Ltd

In the case of Campaspe Investments Pty Ltd v PBP Accounting Solutions Pty Ltd, the dispute involved the plaintiff, Campaspe Investments, seeking summary judgment against the defendant, PBP Accounting Solutions, for failure to account for profits and damages for breach of fiduciary duty. The matter was heard in the Supreme Court of Victoria. The plaintiff argued that the defendant had failed to properly account for profits made from a breach of fiduciary duty and sought both summary judgment and a default judgment.

The primary legal issues before the court were whether the defendant's defence had any real prospect of success and if the enactment of the Civil Procedure Act 2010 (Vic) had altered the material change in the test for summary judgment. The court also needed to determine whether the defendant owed a fiduciary duty to the plaintiff and, if so, whether that duty had been breached. The court referenced the decision in Lysaght Building Solutions Pty Ltd v Blanalko Pty Ltd [2013] VSCA 158 to assist in its analysis.

The court found that the defendant's defence did not have any real prospect of success. It held that the test for summary judgment had not materially changed with the enactment of the Civil Procedure Act 2010 (Vic), maintaining the standard set by prior case law. The court determined that the defendant owed a fiduciary duty to the plaintiff and that this duty had been breached. Consequently, the court granted the plaintiff's application for summary judgment and ordered the defendant to pay the plaintiff’s costs. Additionally, a default judgment was sought and granted under r 21.04 of the Supreme Court (General Civil Procedure) Rules 2005.