Allianz Australia Insurance Ltd v Cervantes

Allianz Australia Insurance Ltd appealed to the New South Wales Court of Appeal against a judgment of the Common Law Division concerning damages awarded to Mr. Cervantes following a motor vehicle accident. The dispute centred on the assessment of future economic loss and the decision maker's consideration of relevant evidence.

The Court of Appeal was required to determine whether the decision maker's failure to refer to particular evidence constituted a failure to take into account a relevant consideration for the purposes of judicial review. It also considered whether the applicant was entitled to rely on the reasons of the decision maker and whether it was necessary for the applicant to have made submissions before the decision maker to establish the source of a legal obligation to consider mandatory factors. Furthermore, the Court examined whether the evidence presented was a relevant consideration and whether the decision maker had indeed considered it. Finally, the Court reviewed whether the decision to award damages by way of a buffer for future economic loss was an evaluative judgment and if such a buffer was manifestly unreasonable given the likely future loss.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, upholding the original judgment. The judges applied principles of administrative law concerning judicial review, specifically the requirement for decision makers to consider all relevant considerations. They found that the failure to refer to specific evidence could indeed amount to a failure to consider a relevant consideration. The Court also affirmed that the applicant could rely on the reasons provided by the decision maker and that the obligation to consider mandatory factors did not necessarily require specific submissions from the applicant. Regarding the damages assessment, the Court considered the use of a buffer for future economic loss to be an evaluative judgment within the decision maker's purview, and found it was not manifestly unreasonable in the circumstances.

The appeal was dismissed, and Allianz Australia Insurance Ltd was ordered to pay the costs of Mr. Cervantes for the appeal.