ANNE MARIE FISHING COMPANY PTY LTD v HEDDLES [1989] NSWCA 5

ANNE MARIE FISHING COMPANY PTY LTD v HEDDLES

SUPREME COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES COURT OF APPEAL

SAMUELS AP, PRIESTLEY and MEAGHER JJA 30 August 1989, 30 August 1989

[1989] NSWCA 5

APPEAL — Compensation Court — error of law — alleged failure to afford counsel opportunity to address court but no such failure found and therefore no breach of rules of natural justice or procedural fairness: Escobar v Spindaleri (1986) 7 NSWLR 51 referred to. ORDER Appeal dismissed with costs.

Samuels AP This is a somewhat unfortunate case - although I make it clear at the outset that in my view, the appellant has failed to make out its contention that it received less than procedural fairness and that the award against it was tainted by a denial of natural justice.

The facts may be shortly stated in this way. Judge O'Meally in the Compensation Court embarked upon an application for determination in which the present appellant was the respondent. I will call it the employer. The learned judge heard evidence during the morning and adjourned at one o'clock saying that he would return to the bench in order to hear addresses at two o'clock. Counsel for the employer had accepted the brief late the evening before and had done so largely because this case was then to be listed before Judge Moran before whom he already had engagements. It therefore appeared safe enough to accept this obligation as well on the footing that counsel's forensic exercises on the day would be confined to one judicial arena.

However, as so often happens, the listing was changed and this case was listed before Judge O'Meally. This left counsel in a difficulty with which anyone who has practised at the bar will be quite familiar, despite the passage of years.

All appeared to be going well enough, however, because counsel's cases before Judge Moran had not come on before luncheon or had been adjourned or stood down. It seemed that counsel would therefore have time to address at two o'clock and then go off and fulfil any duties he still had elsewhere.