Westpac Banking Corporation & Ors v Eltran Pty Limited

The High Court of Australia considered an application for special leave to appeal concerning an interlocutory injunction. The applicants, Westpac Banking Corporation and two receivers, sought to overturn a decision by the Full Court of the Federal Court that had restrained them from exercising a power of sale under mortgages granted by the respondent, Eltran Pty Limited. The dispute arose from claims by Eltran that Westpac and the receivers had engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct, seeking damages under the Trade Practices Act 1974 and relief to vary the mortgages to set off these damages against the indebtedness.

The central legal issue before the High Court was whether, in the context of restraining a mortgagee's sale of commercial land, the ordinary legal principle that damages are an adequate remedy should be applied. The applicants argued that the Full Court had erred by setting aside a discretionary judgment at first instance, which had refused to grant an interlocutory injunction, by taking a different view of the facts. The respondent, Eltran, contended that the Full Court's decision to restrain the sale was appropriate.

The applicants submitted that the case raised an important issue of principle regarding the application of the adequacy of damages test in the context of commercial property sales. They argued that the Full Court had improperly interfered with a discretionary judgment by substituting its own view of the facts. The proceedings were brought in the Federal Court due to claims under the Trade Practices Act, and it was accepted by both parties that a serious question to be tried existed regarding Eltran's entitlement to relief, including against the exercise of the power of sale.