Coeclerici Asia (Pte) Ltd v Gujarat NRE Coke Ltd (No 2)

Coeclerici Asia (Pte) Ltd and Gujarat NRE Coke Ltd were involved in a dispute before the Federal Court of Australia, with the specific issue being the distribution of funds from a receivership account held by the Court. The court was required to decide whether the receivers' claim for remuneration and expenses should be approved by the Court and how any remaining funds should be distributed between the two judgment creditor claimants. The claimants argued for an equal distribution of the funds, citing the equitable maxim "equality is equity", while the receivers argued that the distribution should be proportionate to the value of the judgments obtained.

The Court considered the Federal Court Rules 2011 (FCR) and the Federal Court of Australia Act 1976 (Cth) and noted that there was no specific provision addressing the distribution of funds in such circumstances. The Court examined the arguments presented by the parties and determined that while the principle of equality might apply in certain contexts, the facts of this case required a proportionate distribution. The Court concluded that the distribution should reflect the value of the judgments obtained by each party, rather than an equal split.

The Court ordered that the proceeds from the sale of certain shares sold by the receivers be distributed in a specific manner. Firstly, the receivers were to be paid $221,233.21 for their interim remuneration and expenses. The remaining balance was to be distributed, with 64.78% going to Armada (Singapore) Pte Limited (Under Judicial Management) and 35.22% to Coeclerici Asia (Pte) Ltd. The Court also ordered that the applicants' costs of and incidental to their application for an order for payment be costs in the proceeding and recoverable when taxed out of any future proceeds of the sale of shares by the receivers.