Saville v Insurance and Care NSW

Saville commenced proceedings against Insurance and Care NSW in the Supreme Court of New South Wales, seeking damages for the alleged tort of good faith and fair dealing. The dispute arose from the handling of a worker’s compensation claim, with the plaintiff contending that Insurance and Care NSW breached an implied contractual obligation to act fairly and in good faith. Insurance and Care NSW applied to dismiss the plaintiff’s case on the basis that the plaintiff had failed to comply with an earlier order from the Court to file an amended pleading. The plaintiff, who was unrepresented, did not comply with the order to file the amended pleading, which rendered the causes of action in the statement of claim untenable.

The central issue for the Court was whether the plaintiff’s failure to comply with the order to file an amended pleading justified the dismissal of the proceedings. The Court had to consider the principles of good faith and fair dealing in the context of the statutory worker’s compensation scheme and assess whether the plaintiff’s causes of action were tenable despite the non-compliance with the Court's order. The Court needed to balance the procedural obligations of the plaintiff against the substantive merits of the claim.

The Court held that the plaintiff's failure to comply with the order to file an amended pleading made the causes of action untenable. Despite the arguable merit of the claim, the Court found that it was necessary to enforce procedural compliance to ensure the fairness of the judicial process. Given the plaintiff’s repeated failure to comply with Court orders, the Court concluded that dismissal of the proceedings was warranted to uphold the integrity of the Court’s processes. The Court dismissed the plaintiff’s claim and ordered the plaintiff to pay Insurance and Care NSW’s costs of the application.