Gilberg v Maritime Super Pty Ltd

The appeal in *Gilberg v Maritime Super Pty Ltd* concerned a dispute over an entitlement to a superannuation benefit. The appellant, Mr Gilberg, had his claim rejected by the trustee, Maritime Super Pty Ltd, because he failed to provide supporting reports from medical practitioners as required by the trust's rules. Mr Gilberg subsequently sought to make a further claim, and the central question was whether the trustee had the power to consider this further claim and what its duties were in relation to it.

The Court of Appeal was required to determine whether the trustee had a power to consider a further claim by the same member after an initial claim had been rejected for non-compliance with the rules. It also had to consider the nature of the trustee's duty when such a further claim was made, and whether that duty had been breached. Finally, the court had to decide whether any relief should be granted to the appellant.

The Court of Appeal reasoned that the trustee's duty of good faith and reasonableness extended to considering a further claim, even if the initial claim was rejected for a formal defect. The court found that the trustee had acted unreasonably in refusing to consider Mr Gilberg's further application to reopen his claim under Rule 17, which the court interpreted as allowing for such reconsideration. The trustee's duty was to act fairly and to afford the member an opportunity to rectify the defect. The court allowed the appeal, set aside the orders of the primary judge, and ordered that the respondent consider the appellant’s application to reopen his claim in accordance with the court's reasons.