Attard v James Legal Pty Ltd

The case of *Attard v James Legal Pty Ltd* was heard in the Court of Appeal of New South Wales, before Allsop P, Beazley and Giles JJA. The dispute concerned whether two specific excess common law insurance policies, issued for the period of risk from 31 March 1967 to 31 March 1968, were liable to indemnify the plaintiff for a loss of $525,000. This loss arose from the plaintiff's liability to a deceased individual, Christopher William Kozaczynski, who suffered from mesothelioma due to asbestos exposure. The plaintiff contended that the 1967-68 policies were responsive to this liability, while the defendant argued that only policies from earlier years were applicable.

The central legal issue before the Court of Appeal was the construction of the insuring clauses within the relevant excess common law policies. Specifically, the court was required to determine whether more than one policy could respond to a single risk, particularly in the context of personal injury occurring during the period of insurance. The court had to ascertain whether the policies issued for the 1967-68 period were indeed triggered by the inhalation of asbestos fibres that led to the deceased's illness, or if the liability was solely attributable to earlier policy years.

The Court of Appeal reasoned that the policies responded in respect of personal injury occurring during their respective periods of insurance. Applying principles of contractual construction to the insuring clauses, the court concluded that the 1967-68 policies were indeed responsive to the plaintiff's liability. The court found that the plaintiff was entitled to indemnity under these policies and was not limited to seeking indemnity solely from earlier policy years. Consequently, the court answered the referred questions in favour of the plaintiff, affirming their entitlement to indemnity under the 1967-68 policies. The proceeding was then stood over for further orders.