Paspaley Pearling Company Pty Ltd v Anderton - [2009] NTSC 3

Paspaley Pearling Company Pty Ltd v Anderton [2009] NTSC 3

PARTIES: PASPALEY PEARLING COMPANY
PTY LTD
v
ANDERTON, ALAN
TITLE OF COURT: SUPREME COURT OF THE
NORTHERN TERRITORY
JURISDICTION: SUPREME COURT OF THE
TERRITORY EXERCISING GENERAL
JURISDICTION
FILE NO: LA 10 OF 2008 (20728162)
DELIVERED: 30 JANUARY 2009
HEARING DATES: 23 JANUARY 2009
JUDGMENT OF: ANGEL ACJ
APPEAL FROM: WORK HEALTH COURT
CATCHWORDS:
ESTOPPEL – Issue estoppel – Worker’s compensation claim settled – Agreement to pay compensation recorded in Work Health Court – payout based on agreed normal weekly earnings – employer estopped from reducing compensation payable – Appeal dismissed.
Work Health Act (NT) ss 69, 108, 108(6)
Work Health Rules 2002 (NT) r 15.01
Blair v Curran (1939) 62 CLR 464
Dickin v NT TAB Pty Ltd [2003] NTSC 119
Kuligowski v Metrobus (2004) 220 CLR 363
REPRESENTATION:
Counsel:

Appellant: P Barr QC
Respondent: I Morris
Solicitors:

Appellant: Cridlands
Respondent: Priestleys
Judgment category classification: B

Judgment ID Number: Ang200901
Number of pages: 6
IN THE SUPREME COURT
OF THE NORTHERN TERRITORY
OF AUSTRALIA
AT DARWIN
Paspaley Pearling Company Pty Ltd v Anderton [2009] NTSC 3
No. LA 10 of 2008 (20728162)
BETWEEN:
PASPALEY PEARLING COMPANY
PTY LTD
Appellant

AND:
ALAN ANDERTON
Respondent

CORAM: ANGEL ACJ
REASONS FOR JUDGMENT
(Delivered 30 January 2009)

In 2006 the respondent worker claimed compensation in respect of injuries alleged to have been incurred in the course of his employment with the appellant employer. The claim was contested initially but eventually settled. A Memorandum of Agreement was executed between the parties
incorporating the terms of settlement. On 14 May 2007 pursuant to s 108 of

the Work Health Act NT (since renamed the Workers Rehabilitation and
Compensation Act NT) it was duly recorded by the Registrar of the Work
Health Court. On being recorded the Memorandum of Agreement became

enforceable as if it were a determination of the Work Health Court: s 108(6)
Work Health Act (NT). It constituted a final determination of the worker’s
entitlement to compensation.

In compliance with r 15.01 Work Health Rules 2002 (NT) a Statement of
Particulars accompanied the filing of the Memorandum of Agreement.
The sum constituting arrears of compensation payable to the worker under
the Memorandum of Agreement was based on normal weekly earnings of
$876.12.
The employer paid the arrears payable under the Memorandum of Agreement

and thereafter continued to pay $876.12 per week compensation to the
worker until 3 August 2007, when it served a Notice of Decision on the
worker notifying him that payments were to be reduced to $803.78. The
notice was served in purported pursuance of s 69 Work Health Act (NT).

It is common ground between the parties that the sum of $876.12 included
superannuation payments. The parties in reaching their agreement had not taken into account the Work Health Amendment Act 2004 (NT) whereby, commencing 26 January 2005, superannuation payments were excluded from
the statutory definition of “normal weekly earnings”. It is also common
ground that the employer does not seek…

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: [2009] NTSC 3
Decision Date: 30/01/2009

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In Paspaley Pearling Company Pty Ltd v Anderton, the dispute between the employer, Paspaley Pearling Company Pty Ltd, and the employee, Alan Anderton, arose from the terms of a settlement agreement concerning worker’s compensation. The case was heard and decided by the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory. The central issue revolved around whether the employer was estopped from reducing the compensation payable to the employee after the settlement agreement was recorded by the Work Health Court.

The legal issues that the court had to decide included whether the Statement of Particulars, which detailed the calculation of the arrears of compensation, formed part of the settlement agreement and whether the employer was estopped from contesting the agreed normal weekly earnings figure. The employer argued that the normal weekly earnings figure did not form part of the agreement and that they were not estopped from reducing future compensation payments. The court had to determine whether the employer's actions were legally permissible under the circumstances.

The court found that the Statement of Particulars did not form part of the Memorandum of Agreement, but the critical issue was whether the employer was estopped from contesting the agreed normal weekly earnings figure. The court held that the employer was estopped from reducing the compensation payments. The recording of the Memorandum of Agreement by the Work Health Court constituted a consent judgment, which established the agreed normal weekly earnings figure as an ultimate fact necessary for determining the sum of compensation payable. The employer's attempt to reduce the compensation payments was deemed impermissible as it contradicted the agreed terms of the settlement. Consequently, the appeal was dismissed with costs.

The final orders of the court were that the appeal was dismissed with costs, and the employer was precluded from reducing the compensation payable to the employee based on the terms of the recorded Memorandum of Agreement.

Orders