Insurance Australia Limited trading as NRMA Insurance v Helou [2008] NSWCA 240

New South Wales Court of Appeal

CITATION: Insurance Australia Limited trading as NRMA Insurance v Helou [2008] NSWCA 240

HEARING DATE(S): 24 September 2008

JUDGMENT DATE: 7 October 2008

JUDGMENT OF: Allsop P at 1; Campbell JA at 2; Bell JA at 67

DECISION: Appeal dismissed with costs.

CATCHWORDS: ADMINISTRATIVE LAW – Particular Tribunals or Bodies – appellant sought review of decision of assessor in Claims Assessment and Resolution Service of Motor Accidents Authority – where no right of appeal to Court – where jurisdiction invoked under s 69 Supreme Court Act 1970 – whether decision vitiated by jurisdictional error or error of law on the face of the record – whether assessor determined "amount of damages" within meaning of s 94 Motor Accidents Compensation Act 1999 – whether assessor properly applied principles for assessment of damages – where respondent had pre-existing tendency to one of the two conditions contributed to by the accident – whether assessor ought to have assessed damages that arose from each condition separately – whether failure of assessor to inform parties he did not intend to do so amounted to denial of procedural fairness – whether assessor ought to have divided the damages attributable to the condition that was subject to a pre-existing condition into that part that was attributable to the accident and that part that was attributable to the pre-existing condition – alternatively whether assessor should have assessed extent to which pre-existing condition was causative of past loss and is likely to be causative of future loss and deducted the amount so assessed from the total past and future loss resulting from Respondent's disability – whether assessor otherwise took account of causal contribution of pre-existing condition in assessment of heads of damage – whether assessor failed to comply with obligation to give reasons – where reasons are to be set out in a "brief statement" in accordance with s 95(5) Motor Accidents Compensation Act, cl 16.3 Claims Assessment Guidelines