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Footscray City College v Ruzicka

Footscray City College v Ruzicka

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SUPREME COURT OF VICTORIA

COURT OF APPEAL

No. 3765 of 2006

FOOTSCRAY CITY COLLEGE
	Appellant
v.
EVA RUZICKA
	Respondent

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JUDGES:	WARREN CJ, MAXWELL, P and CHERNOV JA
WHERE HELD:	MELBOURNE
DATE OF HEARING:	30 May 2007
DATE OF JUDGMENT:	27 June 2007
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION:	[2007] VSCA 136	1^st Revision 19 December 2007

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Statutory interpretation – Costs – Construction of s 50(2A) Accident Compensation Act 1985– Whether s 50(2A) covers the field on costs of applications for lump sum compensation – Whether words can be read into provision – Whether literal construction productive of absurd results – Comma signifying demarcation – Whether costs can be ordered where claim is dismissed – Civic Workers Plus Pty Ltd v Hill (2001) 1 VR 640 distinguished – Accident Compensation Act 1985, ss 50(1), 50(2A), 98, 98A, 104.

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APPEARANCES:	Counsel	Solicitors
For the Appellant	Mr M F Fleming	Wisewoulds
For the Respondent	Mr J H Kennan SC with	Maurice Blackburn Cashman
Mr S B Spittle

WARREN CJ:

I have read the draft reasons of Chernov JA. I agree with the reasons and disposition proposed by his Honour.

MAXWELL P:

I have had the advantage of reading in draft the reasons for judgment of Chernov JA. I would dispose of the appeal as his Honour proposes, for the reasons he gives.

CHERNOV JA:

In this proceeding the respondent, Eva Ruzicka, relevantly claimed as against the appellant, Footscray City College, weekly payments for compensation under the Accident Compensation Act 1985 (“the Act”) and lump sum compensation pursuant to ss 98 and 98A of the Act in respect of ongoing injuries that she said she sustained, principally to her spine, whilst in the appellant’s employ. After hearing the matter, the learned trial judge ordered, on 16 December 2005, that the appellant pay to the respondent weekly payments of compensation for the relevant period, but dismissed her claim for lump sum compensation. Following a later hearing on the question of costs, her Honour ordered, on 14 March 2006, that the appellant pay the respondent’s costs on the relevant scale but excluding any costs that related solely to the ss 98 and 98A application. Her Honour considered that, in light of the terms of s 50 of the Act, which in sub-s (2A) deals with the payment of costs in respect of claims brought under ss 98 and 98A of the Act, and the decision of this Court in Civic Workers Plus Pty Ltd v Hill[1] (“Hill”) to the effect that sub-s (2A) is a code or an exclusive regime for the payment of costs in s 98 or 98A applications, there should be no order as to costs in respect of the respondent’s failed claim in that regard. The judge said that since there was no “order [made by the court] for the payment of an

amount of compensation to the [respondent]” it had no power to award costs in respect of that application. The appellant appeals, pursuant to s 52 of…

Grounds of appeal

[14] The appellant contends that the primary judge erred in finding that the respondent had discharged the onus of establishing the matters required under the relevant provision.

[15] It was submitted that his Honour failed to give adequate weight to the evidence of the second witness, and that the findings of fact were not reasonably open on the material before the Court.

[16] The respondent, for its part, submits that no error is disclosed, and that the conclusions reached were well within the range of outcomes available to the primary judge.

Consideration

[17] It is convenient to deal first with the question of construction, as the resolution of that issue informs the remaining grounds advanced by the appellant.

[18] For the reasons that follow, we are of the view that the appeal should be allowed in part and the matter remitted for further determination.

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Details

Case: [2007] VSCA 136
Decision Date: 27 June 2007

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The case of Footscray City College v Ruzicka involved the interpretation of statutory provisions relating to costs in applications for lump sum compensation under the Accident Compensation Act 1985. The dispute arose after the plaintiff, an educational institution, applied for lump sum compensation in relation to a claim made by an employee. The court was tasked with determining whether the statutory provisions in question allowed for the awarding of costs where a claim was dismissed. The defendant argued that the statutory scheme precluded the court from ordering costs against the applicant when the claim was dismissed, while the plaintiff contended that the court had the inherent jurisdiction to order costs in such circumstances.

The central legal issue before the court was the interpretation of section 50(2A) of the Accident Compensation Act 1985, and whether it covered the field on costs of applications for lump sum compensation. The court considered whether it was permissible to read words into the provision, and whether a literal construction of the provision would lead to absurd results. The court also examined whether the comma in the statutory provision signified a demarcation and whether costs could be ordered where a claim was dismissed. In this regard, the court distinguished the case of Civic Workers Plus Pty Ltd v Hill, where the court held that the statutory scheme precluded the awarding of costs where a claim was dismissed.

The court concluded that the comma in section 50(2A) signified a demarcation between the circumstances in which costs could be ordered. The court found that the plain meaning of the statutory provision did not preclude the court from ordering costs where a claim was dismissed, and that the literal construction of the provision did not lead to absurd results. The court held that the statutory scheme did not cover the field on costs of applications for lump sum compensation, and that the court had the inherent jurisdiction to order costs in such circumstances. The court therefore allowed the appeal and remitted the matter to the tribunal to determine the costs of the application.

Orders