› Whether trial judge erred in not accounting for interest costs between date of hypothetical purchase and valuation date
Damages
› Quantification of damages
› Loss of opportunity
› Sellars discount
› Assessment of prospect of success
› Whether 10 per cent discount manifestly inadequate
› Sellars v Adelaide Petroleum NL (1994) 179 CLR 332
Appeal
› Standard of appellate review
› Evaluative judgment
› Assessment of Sellars discount in loss of opportunity case
› Whether House v The King principles apply
› House v The King (1936) 55 CLR 499
Quick Take
1Appellate review of a trial judge's assessment of a Sellars discount in a loss of opportunity case is governed by the same principles as review of discretionary decisions under House v The King (1936) 55 CLR 499; an appellate court will not substitute its own evaluation absent identified error in findings or method, or a result so unreasonable as to bespeak such error.
2Where a trial judge values a lost business opportunity at a later date but deducts the purchase price as at the earlier hypothetical completion date, profits the plaintiff would have earned from operating the business in the intervening period may on the evidence offset the interest costs of holding the asset, such that no separate deduction for holding costs is required.
3The level of a Sellars discount is heavily fact-dependent and involves matters of impression; comparison with discounts applied in other cases provides little to no utility.
Case Details
Citation[2025] VSCA 30
CourtVSCA
JurisdictionVictoria
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