Sprout Trading NSW Pty Ltd trading as Sprout Ag v PBH Trading Pty Ltd (No 2)

Sprout Trading NSW Pty Ltd trading as Sprout Ag v PBH Trading Pty Ltd (No 2) was a case before the Supreme Court of New South Wales. The plaintiff, Sprout Trading NSW Pty Ltd, sought equitable compensation for a loss of opportunity from the defendants, PBH Trading Pty Ltd and one of its directors, Mr. Hall. The case involved a dispute over the assessment of the plaintiff's equitable compensation and the potential for a double recovery.

The primary legal issue was the appropriate basis for assessing the plaintiff's equitable compensation for a loss of opportunity. Specifically, the court had to decide whether a discount should apply in accordance with the principles set out in Sellars v Adelaide Petroleum NL. Additionally, the court needed to determine whether the risk of double recovery was present, given the defendants' acceptance of the plaintiff's entitlement to a'split election' for different remedies between the defendants, despite their shared fiduciary duties.

The court held that equitable compensation should be assessed on the basis of a loss of opportunity without applying a discount, as per the principles established in Sellars v Adelaide Petroleum NL. The court found that there was no risk of double recovery, as the acts constituting separate breaches by each defendant were in each case performed by Mr. Hall, who was the sole director of PBH Trading Pty Ltd. Consequently, the court ruled that the plaintiff could elect different remedies for each defendant without the risk of being compensated twice for the same loss.

The court's final orders included an assessment of the plaintiff's equitable compensation for the loss of opportunity without any discount, and a clarification that the risk of double recovery was mitigated by the shared fiduciary duties and the identity of the individual responsible for the breaches.