| JURISDICTION : DISTRICT COURT OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA LOCATION : PERTH CITATION : ABDURAMANOSKI -v- PHILIPPE [2004] WADC 110 (S) CORAM : NISBET DCJ HEARD : 26, 29-31 MARCH & 1 APRIL 2004 DELIVERED : 1 JUNE 2004 SUPPLEMENTARY
DECISION : 19 JULY 2004 FILE NO/S : CIV 3262 of 2002 BETWEEN : SUKARNO ABDURAMANOSKI Plaintiff
AND
STEVEN JAMES PHILIPPE
Defendant
Catchwords: Practice and procedure - Slip rule - Correction of judgment - Failure to apply s 3D(7) of the Motor Vehicle (Third Party Insurance) Act 1943
Legislation: Motor Vehicle (Third Party Insurance) Act 1943
(Page 2)
Result:
Judgment amended to $190,229.92 Representation:
Counsel:
Plaintiff : Mr T H Offer
Defendant : Mr D R Sands
Solicitors:
Plaintiff : Trewin Norman & Co
Defendant : Talbot & Olivier
Case(s) referred to in judgment(s):
Storey & Keers Pty Ltd v Johnstone (1987) 9 NSWLR 446
Case(s) also cited:
Nil
(Page 3)
1 NISBET DCJ: In my judgment published 1 June 2004 at par 56 I made provision for an award of $4,200 for gratuitous services rendered to the plaintiff. I am grateful to the parties for drawing to my attention the fact that I had completely overlooked the provisions of s 3D(7) of the Motor Vehicle (Third Party Insurance) Act 1943 as amended which provides that before there can be an award for gratuitous services the amount to be awarded must exceed $5,000, that is to say, there is a threshold which a plaintiff must overcome before a judgment can include an award under this head of claim. The threshold was not reached in these circumstances and my judgment has to be amended accordingly by deducting the sum of $4,200 and, accordingly, the proper amount for which judgment should have been moved by counsel for the plaintiff is the sum of $190,229.92.
2 Order 21 r 10 of the Rules of the Supreme Court (the slip rule) provides: "Clerical mistakes in judgments or orders or errors arising therein from any accidental slip or omission, may at any time be corrected by the Court on motion or summons without an appeal." 3 At first glance it might be thought that an error of law could not be categorised as either a clerical mistake or an error arising from an accidental slip or omission. However, in this case, s 3D(7) of the Motor Vehicle (Third Party Insurance) Act 1943 is clear in its terms and indeed has been given effect by me on many (other) occasions. Had this matter been drawn to my attention at the time I delivered my judgment and counsel moved for judgment in accordance with its terms I would have made the correction at once which is one of the tests for determining the ambit of operation of this rule: Storey & Keers Pty Ltd v Johnstone (1987) 9 NSWLR 446.
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