Sydney Water Corporation v McGrath

Sydney Water Corporation appealed to the Court of Appeal of New South Wales against a decision of a single judge who had exercised a discretion under s 562A(4) of the *Corporations Act 2001* (Cth) in favour of Mr. McGrath. The dispute concerned the quantification of an amount received by insurers, which was relevant to the determination of the amount that would have been paid to Mr. McGrath had the discretion been exercised in his favour.

The primary legal issues before the Court of Appeal were whether the trial judge erred in deciding not to exercise the power conferred by s 562A(4) of the *Corporations Act 2001* (Cth), whether the trial judge's exercise of discretion was vitiated by a material error of fact, and whether the determination was unreasonable or plainly unjust. A further issue was whether there was an error in the quantification of the amount received by insurers for the purpose of determining the relevant amount had the discretion been exercised in favour of the insured.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal. It found no error in the trial judge's decision to exercise the discretion under s 562A(4) of the *Corporations Act 2001* (Cth). The Court held that the trial judge's exercise of discretion was not vitiated by material error of fact, nor was the determination unreasonable or plainly unjust. The Court also found no error in the quantification of the amount received by the insurers. Consequently, the appeal was dismissed with costs.