Renowden v McMullin

The High Court of Australia considered the dispute between Renowden and McMullin concerning the interpretation of a will. The primary issue before the Court was whether a specific bequest of shares in a company, which had undergone a capital reconstruction prior to the testator's death, should be construed as referring to the original shares or the new shares issued as a result of the reconstruction.

The Court was required to determine the testator's intention regarding the subject matter of the bequest in light of the company's capital changes. Specifically, the legal question was whether the bequest lapsed due to the destruction of the subject matter, or if it should be interpreted as referring to the shares that replaced the original ones.

The majority of the Court reasoned that the testator's intention, as evidenced by the will, was to bequeath the shares held by him in the company at the time of his death. They applied the principle that a bequest of shares in a company should be construed as referring to the shares as they exist at the time of the testator's death, even if the company has undergone capital reconstruction, provided the identity of the company and the testator's holding in it remain substantially the same. The Court found that the capital reconstruction had not fundamentally altered the nature of the testator's investment in the company, and therefore the bequest was not adeemed.

The appeal was dismissed, with the Court upholding the decision of the lower court.