Compound interest on equitable compensation for breach of fiduciary duty is appropriate only where the claim is restitutionary (disgorgement of a gain) and there is evidence or an evidentiary foundation for assuming the fiduciary made a gain; where the claim is compensatory (restoring the beneficiary to the position they would have been in), simple interest at market-related rates is appropriate. A contractual provision entitling a party to 'the costs of entering judgment' will be construed as requiring indemnity costs where party and party costs would have been available without the provision. The court's inherent equitable jurisdiction to award interest on amounts withheld by a fiduciary operates independently of s 60 of the Supreme Court Act 1986 (Vic) and is not subject to its limitations.
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