Agyeman-Badu v The Nominal Defendant [2012] NSWDC 35

District Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Agyeman-Badu v The Nominal Defendant [2012] NSWDC 35 Hearing dates: 29 March 2012 Decision date: 13 April 2012 Jurisdiction: Civil Before: Gibson DCJ Decision: (1) Plaintiff's application for leave to commence proceedings pursuant to s 109 Motor Accidents Compensation Act 1999 (NSW) refused. (2) Defendant's application for these proceedings to be dismissed for failure to provide a full and satisfactory explanation (ss 72 and 73 Motor Accidents Compensation Act 1999 (NSW)) granted. (3) Plaintiff to pay defendant's costs. (4) Liberty to apply in relation to costs. (5) Exhibits retained for 28 days. Catchwords: LIMITATION OF ACTIONS - Motor Accidents Compensation Act 1999, s 109 - plaintiff's application for leave to commence proceedings pursuant to s 109 - whether statement of claim was in fact filed in time - meaning of "issued" in s 109 - leave to commence required - defendant's claim of prejudice - whether a fair trial in all the circumstances was possible - held: application for leave dismissed - defendant's application to dismiss proceedings for failure to give a full and satisfactory explanation for delay - plaintiff unaware of the Nominal Defendant scheme - further delay by plaintiff for three months after consulting a lawyer due to uncertainty about accident site and failure of plaintiff to contact her lawyers - held: explanation neither full nor satisfactory for the three month period following the plaintiff's consultation of lawyers Legislation Cited: Motor Accidents Compensation Act 1999 (NSW), ss 70, 72, 73, 92(1)(a), 109 Cases Cited: Brisbane South Regional Health Authority v Taylor (1996) 186 CLR 541 Commonwealth v Smith [2005] NSWCA 478 Diaz v Truong [2002] NSWCA 265 Ellis v Reko Pty Ltd [2010] NSWCA 319 Figliuzzi v Yonan [2005] NSWCA 290 GIO General Ltd v Smith [2011] NSWSC 802 Harris v Nominal Defendant [2009] NSWDC 372 Holt v Wynter (2000) 49 NSWLR 128 Laidlaw v Touma [2002] NSWCA 190 Mancini v Thompson [2002] NSWCA 38 Nominal Defendant v Harris (2011) 57 MVR 492 Salvation Army (South Australia Property Trust) v Rundle [2008] NSWCA 347 Smith v Grant (2006) 67 NSWLR 735 Russo v Aiello (2003) 215 CLR 643 Tan v Basaga [2010] NSWSC 1143 Walker v Howard (2009) 78 NSWLR 161 Texts Cited: - Category: Procedural and other rulings Parties: Plaintiff: Ama Amaniampong Agyeman-Badu Defendant: The Nominal Defendant Representation: Plaintiff: Mr R B Petrie Defendant: Mr D Ronzani Plaintiff: PK Simpsons & Co Defendant: Moray & Agnew File Number(s): 2011/251665 Publication restriction: None