NSW Ministerial Corporation (formerly GIO of NSW) v Bechara

The New South Wales Ministerial Corporation, formerly known as GIO of NSW, appealed to the New South Wales Court of Appeal against a decision of the District Court. The dispute concerned the interpretation of a clause within a motor vehicle insurance policy, specifically whether it provided cover for damage sustained by the insured vehicle while it was being driven by a person who was not named on the policy.

The primary legal issue before the Court of Appeal was whether the policy's wording, which stipulated that the vehicle was insured "while being driven by the insured or any other person with the consent of the insured," extended cover to the driver in question. This required the court to consider the scope of "consent" in the context of an insurance policy and whether it implied an authorisation for the driver to use the vehicle for any purpose, or only for purposes contemplated by the insured.

The Court of Appeal held that the clause in question was not ambiguous and that the word "consent" in this context meant permission to drive the vehicle, not necessarily permission for any specific use. The court reasoned that the ordinary meaning of "consent" in such a situation was to allow the person to drive, and that the insurer had not limited the scope of that consent within the policy wording. Therefore, the damage sustained while the vehicle was being driven by a person with the insured's permission was covered by the policy.

The appeal was dismissed, and the decision of the District Court was affirmed.