Bjelecic v Lawcover Insurance Pty Limited

The case of Bjelecic v Lawcover Insurance Pty Limited involved a dispute where the plaintiff, Bjelecic, was seeking damages from the defendants, Lawcover Insurance Pty Limited and another party. The matter was heard in the District Court of New South Wales. The original judgment incorrectly recorded the outcome, leading to an order that the defendants pay the plaintiff a sum of $51,431. Subsequently, both parties sought corrections to the orders based on perceived errors in the judgment.

The court was tasked with determining whether the applications for correction were within the allowable time frame under the Uniform Civil Procedure Rules and whether the errors could be corrected under either UCPR r 36.16 or r 36.17. The court also needed to decide if the alleged errors involved findings of fact and law that should be addressed through appeal rather than correction. Additionally, the court examined the request for indemnity costs by the defendants due to a Calderbank offer that was accepted.

The court found that the applications for correction were timely and that the asserted errors were capable of correction under the UCPR. However, the court held that the errors involved findings of fact and law, which should be the subject of appeal rather than correction. Therefore, the court did not allow the corrections sought by the parties. The court also ruled on the costs, awarding indemnity costs to the defendants as a result of the accepted Calderbank offer.

The final orders included vacating the original JusticeLink order, entering a corrected judgment in favour of the second defendant against the plaintiff and in favour of the plaintiff against the first defendant for the original sum of $51,431, and specifying the costs to be paid by each party. The plaintiff was ordered to pay the first defendant’s costs on an indemnity basis from 17 April 2015, and the second defendant’s costs on an indemnity basis from the same date.