This coming Wednesday 7 May 2014, the High Court of Australia will deliver two important decisions – one in restitution law, the other in insolvency law.

The first is an appeal from the decision of the NSW Court of Appeal in Hills Industries Ltd v Australian Financial Services and Leasing Pty Ltd [2012] NSWCA 380; (2012) 295 ALR 147. This is a case concerning mistaken payments due to fraud, and in particular the change of position defence. I wrote on that decision in detail last year – you can read my review of it here (second case discussed there).

The second is an appeal from the decision of the Victorian Court of Appeal in Atco Controls Pty Ltd (in liquidation) v Stewart [2013] VSCA 132. In this case the central issue concerns liquidator’s equitable liens and the Universal Distributing principle. I wrote about this case in March – you can read my review of it here. The precedent the High Court decision sets here is likely to be important for liquidators moving forward, as to there being certainty regarding whether and when they can expect to be compensated for their time and money spent in recovering assets covered by a creditor’s security.