Grose v Commissioner of Police (No 1) [2012] NSWDC 215

District Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Grose v Commissioner of Police (No 1) [2012] NSWDC 215 Hearing dates: 19, 20 September 2012 Decision date: 20 September 2012 Before: Neilson DCJ Decision: (1) The plaintiff was still in the police force at the time the PSAC certified him as incapable of discharging his duties of office. Accordingly, s 10B(2) of the Act is irrelevant to the plaintiff whose entitlement is governed by s 10B(1) and so he was not required to give notice of the injury within six months of the occurrence of the injurious event. [9], [10] (2) Secondly, it is not up to the Commissioner of Police to make a decision under s 10B(2)(a). Only the STC can make such a decision. [11] - [14] Page v Commissioner of Police (No 1) [2012] NSWDC 130 considered. (3) Even if a defence based on s 10B(2) were applicable to the plaintiff, which it is not, it could not be dealt with under UCPR 13.4(1) because it is a substantive defence and would require an order for a separate trial of that issue under UCPR 28.2 Catchwords: POLICE - Statement of claim for superannuation or gratuity - Notice of motion to summarily dismiss proceedings - Plaintiff still a serving police officer when certified incapable of discharging duties of office - Defence based on failure of plaintiff to notify defendant within six months of receiving injury causing infirmity - Whether legislation applied to plaintiff Legislation Cited: Police Regulation (Superannuation) Act 1906, ss 10B, 14B, 21 Cases Cited: Page v Commissioner of Police (No 1) [2012] NSWDC 130 SAS Trustee Corporation v Hazlewood [2009] NSWIRComm 157 Woollard v SAS Trustee Corporation [2012] NSWIRComm 51 Category: Interlocutory applications Parties: Brett Grose (Plaintiff) Commissioner of Police (Defendant) Representation: Mr T Ower (Plaintiff) Mr M Hutchings (Defendant) Oates Legal (Plaintiff) McCabes Terrill Lawyers (Defendant) File Number(s): RJ354/11