Insurance Australia Ltd v Motor Accidents Authority of New South Wales [2013] NSWSC 1439

Supreme Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Insurance Australia Ltd v Motor Accidents Authority of New South Wales [2013] NSWSC 1439 Hearing dates: 18 September 2013 Decision date: 27 September 2013 Before: R A Hulme J Decision: 1. The plaintiff's summons is dismissed. 2. The plaintiff is to pay the costs of the third defendant. Catchwords: ADMINISTRATIVE LAW - judicial review - claim under Motor Accidents Compensation Act 1999 - claim legally and factually complex - multiple applications by insurer for exemption of claim from assessment - applications refused by assessor - jurisdictional error and error of law on the face of the record asserted - asking wrong question asserted - unreasonableness asserted - decision does not demonstrate patent error - decision not one that could not be reached by a reasonable decision maker - no requirement that assessor must reconsider each criteria in Assessment Guidelines when determining successive applications for exemption Legislation Cited: Motor Accidents Compensation Act 1999 (NSW) Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005 (NSW) Cases Cited: Allianz Australia Insurance Ltd v Tarabay [2013] NSWSC 141 Insurance Australia Ltd t/as NRMA Insurance v Motor Accidents Authority of New South Wales [2007] NSWCA 314 Minister for Immigration and Citizenship v Li [2013] HCA 18; (2013) 297 ALR 225 Paice v Hill [2009] NSWCA 156; (2009) 75 NSWLR 468 Zurich Australian Insurance Ltd v MAA and Anor [2006] NSWSC 845 Category: Principal judgment Parties: Insurance Australia Limited trading as NRMA Insurance (Plaintiff) Motor Accidents Authority of New South Wales (First Defendant) Garry Patterson, in his capacity as a Claims Assessor the Motor Accidents Authority of New South Wales (Second Defendant) Deslee Margaret McCosker (Third Defendant) Belinda Cassidy, in her capacity as a Claims Assessor of the Motor Accidents Authority of New South Wales (Fourth Defendant) Representation: Counsel: Mr J Poulos QC with Ms E Holmes (Plaintiff) Mr P Jones (Third Defendant) Solicitors: Sparke Helmore (Plaintiff) Crown Solicitor (First, Second & Fourth Defendants) Colin Daley Quinn (Third Defendant) File Number(s): 2013/133086