Rapid Metal Developments (Aust) Pty Ltd v Rildean Pty Ltd (No 3) - [2010] NSWSC 7

CITATION: Rapid Metal Developments (Aust) Pty Ltd v Rildean Pty Ltd (No 3) [2010] NSWSC 7

HEARING DATE(S): 16 December 2009

JUDGMENT DATE :
10 February 2010

JUDGMENT OF: R A Hulme J

DECISION: Defendants to pay Plaintiff outstanding hire charges, interest on unpaid hire charges, damages for conversion and interest pursuant to s 100 of the Civil Procedure Act

CATCHWORDS: CORPORATIONS - receivers, controllers and managers - duties and liabilities - DAMAGES - liability of receivers and managers - s 419A Corporations Act - assessment of damages payable by agents for mortgagee in possession in respect of rent and other amounts accruing under prior agreement - TORTS - conversion - assessment of value of goods converted - INTEREST - recoverability of interest - interest on unpaid hire charges - interest pursuant to s 100 Civil Procedure Act

LEGISLATION CITED: Corporations Act 2001 (Cth)
Civil Procedure Act 2005

CASES CITED: Butler v Egg and Egg Pulp Marketing Board (1966) 114 CLR 185
Deputy Commissisoner of Taxation v Clark (2003) 57 NSWLR 113
Gaba Formwork Contractors Pty Ltd v Turner Corporation Ltd & Anor (1993) 32 NSWLR 175
Kuwait Airways Corpn v Iraqi Airways Co (No.s 4 and 5) [2002] 2 AC 883
Quazi v Quazi [1980] AC 744
Rapid Metal Developments (Aust) Pty Ltd v Rildean Pty Ltd [2009] NSWSC 571
Regency Media Pty Ltd v AAV Australia Pty Ltd [2009] NSWCA 199
Re Nardell Coal Corporation (In Liq) v Hunter Valley Coal Processing [2003] NSWSC 642
Strand Electric and Engineering Co Ltd v Brisford Entertainments Ltd [1952] 2 QB 246

PARTIES: Rapid Metal Developments (Australia) Pty Limited (Plaintiff)
Anthony De Vries and Riad Tayeh as joint administrators of Rildean Pty Limited (Defendants)

FILE NUMBER(S): SC 13806/05

COUNSEL: Mr V Gray (Plaintiff)
Mr M Ashhurst SC (Defendants)

SOLICITORS: JGP Lawyers (Plaintiff)
PMF Legal (Defendants)

IN THE SUPREME COURT
OF NEW SOUTH WALES
COMMON LAW DIVISION

R A Hulme J

10 February 2010

13806/05 Rapid Metal Developments (Aust) Pty Limited v Anthony De Vries & Riad Tayeh as joint administrators of Rildean Pty Limited

JUDGMENT

1 HIS HONOUR: On 26 June 2009 I gave judgment for the plaintiff on the question of liability: Rapid Metal Developments (Aust) Pty Ltd v Rildean Pty Ltd [2009] NSWSC 571 (“the principal judgment”). I have now received and heard submissions on quantum.

Relevant findings of fact

2 In the principal judgment I made the following findings of fact which are relevant to the present issue.

3 On 19 September 2001, the plaintiff (“RMD”) entered into an agreement (“the contract”) with Rildean Pty Limited (“Rildean”) which set out various terms and conditions of trade between the two.

4 Pursuant to that agreement, RMD hired numerous items of scaffolding to Rildean on various occasions between 21 September 2001 and 16 March 2002.

5 On 18 July 2002 (“the date of appointment”) the defendants were appointed as agents for the mortgagee in possession of the assets of Rildean whereupon they entered into possession and took control of…

Grounds of appeal

[14] The appellant contends that the primary judge erred in finding that the respondent had discharged the onus of establishing the matters required under the relevant provision.

[15] It was submitted that his Honour failed to give adequate weight to the evidence of the second witness, and that the findings of fact were not reasonably open on the material before the Court.

[16] The respondent, for its part, submits that no error is disclosed, and that the conclusions reached were well within the range of outcomes available to the primary judge.

Consideration

[17] It is convenient to deal first with the question of construction, as the resolution of that issue informs the remaining grounds advanced by the appellant.

[18] For the reasons that follow, we are of the view that the appeal should be allowed in part and the matter remitted for further determination.

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Details

Case: [2010] NSWSC 7
Decision Date: 10 February 2010

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The case of Rapid Metal Developments (Aust) Pty Ltd v Rildean Pty Ltd (No 3) involved a dispute between a mortgagee in possession and the previous tenant of premises. Rapid Metal Developments, the mortgagee in possession, sought to recover unpaid rent and other amounts that accrued under a prior lease agreement with Rildean Pty Ltd. The case was heard in the Supreme Court of New South Wales. The central issue was the calculation of damages, including interest, owed by Rildean to Rapid Metal Developments. The court had to determine the appropriate method for assessing the value of the goods converted and whether interest on unpaid hire charges was recoverable.

The primary legal issues revolved around the assessment of damages under section 419A of the Corporations Act and the calculation of interest under the Civil Procedure Act. The court considered whether the receivers and managers of Rapid Metal Developments were liable for damages in their capacity as agents of the mortgagee in possession, and if so, what the extent of that liability was. Additionally, the court had to decide whether interest should be calculated on the unpaid hire charges and, if so, at what rate and from what date.

In delivering the judgment, the court held that the receivers and managers were indeed liable for damages in their capacity as agents. The court assessed the damages based on the unpaid rent and other amounts that accrued under the prior lease agreement. It determined that interest on the unpaid hire charges was recoverable, calculated at the rate prescribed by section 100 of the Civil Procedure Act from the date the amounts became due. The court's reasoning was grounded in statutory interpretation and established principles of damages and interest in commercial leases.

The final orders of the court required Rildean Pty Ltd to pay Rapid Metal Developments the assessed damages, including interest, within a specified period. The court also directed that the receivers and managers were liable for the damages in their capacity as agents of the mortgagee in possession. This decision provides clarity on the liability of receivers and managers in similar disputes and the calculation of damages and interest in lease agreements.

Orders