Re Australian Metal Company Limited

The dispute before the High Court concerned claims for interest by the Broken Hill Proprietary Co. Ltd. and the Broken Hill South Silver Mining Co. No Liability against the Australian Metal Company Limited. The Australian Metal Company's business in Australia had been ordered to be wound up by the Minister for Trade and Customs under the *Trading with the Enemy Act 1914-1921*, and a controller had been appointed to manage this process. While the basis for the principal claims of the two Broken Hill companies had previously been determined by the High Court, the question of their entitlement to interest on these amounts was raised subsequently.

The court was required to determine whether the Broken Hill Proprietary Co. and the Broken Hill South Silver Mining Co. were legally entitled to claim interest on the principal sums owed to them by the Australian Metal Company. This involved examining whether a contractual right to interest existed under the respective agreements between the companies, and alternatively, whether interest could be awarded under section 75 of the *Supreme Court Act 1915* (Vict.). The court also considered whether any such interest, if found to be payable, should be paid absolutely or be subject to the prior payment of capital debts.

The court found that neither company had a contractual right to interest. For the Broken Hill Proprietary Co., clause 18 of its contract was interpreted to apply only to delays in payment on the pro forma account, not to subsequent adjustments. For the Broken Hill South Silver Mining Co., correspondence regarding the potential acceptance of inscribed stock did not constitute a binding agreement to transfer such stock, and therefore did not create a right to interest. Furthermore, the court held that section 75 of the *Supreme Court Act 1915* (Vict.) was not applicable to the present proceedings, which were not actions to recover a debt or a sum certain.

Consequently, the court answered that the Broken Hill Proprietary Co. was not entitled to interest on any part of its claim, and similarly, the Broken Hill South Silver Mining Co. was not entitled to interest on any part of its claim. Questions regarding the subordination of interest claims to capital debts were deemed unnecessary to answer given these findings. The costs of the application were ordered to be shared equally between the two claimant companies.