Fonterra faces the Commerce Commission and the Tatua dairy company in the High Court at Wellington today.
The hearing is the latest episode in a long-running technical dispute relating to the interpretation of the Dairy Restructuring Act.
The dispute began when the giant dairy co-operative challenged a determination by the
commission, which in June 2003 set a discount rate of 11.7 per cent for calculating Fonterra's annualised share value for the 2001-2002 season.
Fonterra has since dropped its challenge but now faces a counterclaim by the commission and tiny rival Tatua.
Fonterra will today argue that the counterclaims should be struck out. The commission and Tatua will argue they should be heard.