Cooper as Liquidator of Runtong Investment and Development Pty Ltd (In Liq) v Ceg Direct Securities Pty Ltd (Costs)

In the case of Cooper as Liquidator of Runtong Investment and Development Pty Ltd (In Liq) v CEG Direct Securities Pty Ltd, the Federal Court was tasked with resolving disputes concerning the award of pre-judgment interest and costs between the parties. The plaintiff, Cooper, as liquidator, sought to recover a judgment sum from the defendant, CEG, along with pre-judgment interest and costs. The central legal issues were the appropriate starting date for calculating pre-judgment interest and the validity of a costs offer made under the Federal Court Rules 2011 (Cth).

The court found that pre-judgment interest should be awarded from the date of the liquidator's demand, which was 7 March 2019, rather than from the date of the liquidators' appointment or the filing of the claim. This conclusion was reached by weighing the reasoning from various precedents, particularly the Full Court's decision in Ferrier & Knight v Civil Aviation Authority, which emphasised that interest should run from the date of demand by the liquidator. The court reasoned that the benefit to creditors only became quantifiable when CEG received the proceeds from the sale of Runtong’s Land, which occurred on 19 October 2018. However, since no demand was made by the liquidators until 7 March 2019, the pre-judgment interest should start from that date, resulting in an award of $528,702.72.

Regarding the costs, the plaintiff's offer to compromise, which was made under rule 25.01 of the Federal Court Rules 2011 (Cth), was deemed valid. The court ordered that the defendant pay the plaintiff’s costs of the proceedings on a party and party basis before 11:00am on 25 June 2021 and on an indemnity basis thereafter.

The court's orders were thus to direct the defendant to pay pre-judgment interest and the plaintiff’s costs, specifying the amounts and the basis on which the costs were to be paid.