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Don’t be collared by your cap – how to ensure your insurance responds Weir Services Australia Pty Limited v AXA Corporate Solutions Assurance [2017] NSWSC 259

Photo of Melissa TanPhoto of Ray GiblettBy Melissa Tan and Ray Giblett on Posted in Cases
The recent decision of Weir Services Australia Pty Limited v AXA Corporate Solutions Assurance [2017] NSWSC 259 is a cautionary tale for insureds seeking to preserve cover when settling third party claims. In order to succeed against the insurer, an insured must prove the existence and quantum of the insured’s liability to the third party. … Continue reading

Limiting Clauses in insurance policies – a recent case study

Photo of Adrian SellaBy Adrian Sella on Posted in Cases
The District Court of Western Australia has recently handed down a decision regarding the scope of general conditions in a policy of insurance which purport to limit an insurer’s liability for claims (Limiting Clauses):  Manitowoq Platinum Pty Ltd & Anor v WFI Insurance Limited [2017] WADC 32. In the absence of any submissions made in … Continue reading

Advocate’s immunity update: High Court hands down Kendirjian decision

Photo of Ceri McDonaldBy Ceri McDonald on Posted in Cases
Timing is everything. On Tuesday, we wrote about the High Court’s pending decision in Kendirjian v Lepore.  On Wednesday, the court handed down its decision. As expected, consistent with the views it expressed in Attwells v Jackson Lalic Lawyers Pty Limited, the court found that advocate’s immunity did not apply to a claim for negligent … Continue reading

Work or play – are professional sports recreational activities?

Photo of Julie DarleyPhoto of Daniel TroyBy Julie Darley and Daniel Troy on Posted in Cases
Some people are lucky enough to make a living by engaging in professional sports.  Does the law treat amateurs who suffer injuries differently from those who pursue sports as a profession?  Two conflicting decisions by superior courts in New South Wales and Tasmania have thrown the law on this point into  disarray. The defence Under … Continue reading

Predictive coding in discovery saves 583 weeks of a young lawyer’s life

Photo of Christine DunnBy Christine Dunn on Posted in Cases
The Supreme Court of Victoria has become the first court in Australia to order the use of technology assisted review (also known as TAR), or predictive coding, in discovery. The Court has also issued a new practice note on Technology in Civil Litigation, which came into effect on 30 January 2017.   The Court requires parties … Continue reading

Class actions: Is the end only the beginning?

Photo of Helen GillPhoto of Caleb JonesBy Helen Gill and Caleb Jones on Posted in Cases
One of the principal aims of a class action regime is to resolve a large number of claims in a single, consolidated action, thereby avoiding a multiplicity of individual actions and enabling savings to be made through economies of scale.  The finality of class action proceedings with respect to group member claims has, however, recently … Continue reading

You think that’s excluded, think again – section 54(3) of the Insurance Contracts Act to the rescue

Photo of Ray GiblettPhoto of Melissa TanBy Ray Giblett and Melissa Tan on Posted in Cases
Allianz Australia Insurance Ltd v Smeaton [2016] ACTCA 59 A jet ski, no licence, and a freak accident which ended a boys’ afternoon out on the Ross River, Queensland. To top it off, a policy exclusion apparently excluded cover. Fortunately for the insured, section 54 of the Insurance Contracts Act 1984 (Cth) (ICA) stepped in … Continue reading

Is there a duty of care to protect customers from a bank robber?

Photo of Renee GorensteinPhoto of Ming KalanonBy Renee Gorenstein and Ming Kalanon on Posted in Cases
Bank robberies may be foreseeable. But does a bank owe its customers a duty to protect them against the risk of harm by a bank robber? The Supreme Court, Court of Appeal, says No. A bank has no control over the unpredictable conduct of an armed robber: Roberts v Westpac Banking Corporation [2016] ACTCA 68 … Continue reading

What does a fire, a million dollar property and a former inmate make?

Photo of Kathryn WhybourneBy Kathryn Whybourne on Posted in Cases
The answer? Not what you’d expect. Proving that an insured has been fraudulent under section 56 of the Insurance Contracts Act 1984 (Cth) where the evidence is mainly circumstantial is no mean feat. Insurance Australia Ltd (IAL) learned this lesson on 4 November 2016, in a disputed insurance claim for property damage resulting from a … Continue reading

A High-Water Mark in Section 54’s Voyage to Certainty?

Photo of Tristan BakerPhoto of Ray GiblettBy Tristan Baker and Ray Giblett on Posted in Cases
If the High Court’s signal in Highway Hauliers was not clear enough, the Full Court of the Federal Court has further affirmed the pervasive remedial nature of section 54 of the Insurance Contracts Act 1984 (ICA). Watkins Syndicate v Pantaenius concerned an appeal from a decision handed down in January this year (See https://www.insurancelawtomorrow.com/2016/10/section-54-of-the-insurance-contracts-act-a-hard-act-to-follow ). … Continue reading

How Fit is “Reasonably Fit”?

Photo of Amanda UnderwoodBy Amanda Underwood on Posted in Cases
Tension between insurer and insured in life and TPD policies often arises around the question of whether an insured worker is permanently disabled simply because of an inability to return to the same pre-injury employment. What if the worker can return to other paid work, albeit different to what was previously undertaken? What must the … Continue reading
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