In light of the High Court of Australia's decision in Hungerfords, and New Zealand's growing dissatisfaction with the decision in London, Chatham and Dover, it is evident that the claim of compound interest as damages is here to stay. The courts are taking a different attitude towards the awarding of compound interest as damages and are attempting to free the law from the fetters of a rule which owes its origins to the commercial thinking of the eighteenth century. Whether the common law is flexible enough to ensure adequate compensation is received in all cases remains to be seen, but the courts in Australia and New Zealand have gone some way to securing the demise of an outmoded precedent and reinstating awards of compound interest as damages.
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