Bennett v Estate of Talacko

[2020] VSCA 99

Victorian Court of Appeal

Built by Barristers,
For Australian Law.

See how it works

Interrogate

Catchwords

1. Damages
2. › Loss of opportunity
3. › Commercial opportunity
4. › Assessment of contingencies
5. › Chance of recovering judgment debt through foreign proceedings
6. › Whether trial judge's assessment of 20 per cent chance compelled by findings to be negligible
7. › Sellars v Adelaide Petroleum NL (1994) 179 CLR 332
1. Damages
2. › Loss of opportunity
3. › Appellate review of damages assessment
4. › Evaluative determination involving multiple contingencies
5. › Whether appellate court should interfere with qualitative evaluation
1. Damages
2. › Tort of unlawful means conspiracy
3. › Transfer of foreign properties to impede recovery of anticipated judgment debt
4. › Loss of opportunity to recover judgment debt against foreign properties
1. Courts
2. › Judgments and orders
3. › Finality of judgments
4. › Whether judgment stayed by operation of bankruptcy legislation is 'final and unappealable' for purposes of foreign enforcement
5. › Bankruptcy Act 1966 (Cth), s 58(3)
6. › Foreign Judgments Act 1991 (Cth), s 15(2)

Quick Take

Practitioners seeking to challenge a trial judge's assessment of the value of a lost commercial opportunity involving multiple contingencies face a high threshold on appeal, as the assessment is an evaluative exercise with which appellate courts should be slow to interfere.