Thompson v Wearing

In Thompson v Wearing, the plaintiff, Bruce Martin Thompson, brought an action against Barry Leslie Wearing, the driver of a van involved in a collision with the plaintiff's truck, which left the plaintiff seriously injured. The collision occurred when the defendant's van, towing a trailer carrying a Holden Commodore sedan, jackknifed across the Pacific Highway during construction work, striking the plaintiff's truck. The key issue in the case was whether the defendant had "fixed to" his van a trader’s plate within the meaning of s.12(10)(c) of the New South Wales Motor Accidents Act 1988 to keep the insurer on risk.

The court examined the statutory language of s.12(10)(c) of the Act, which states that an insurer is on risk only while a trader’s plate is fixed to the vehicle. The court rejected the insurer's argument that the trader’s plate needed to be immovably fixed or fastened in a particular way, such as being tied to the steering column or fastened to a spare wheel. Instead, the court found that the term "fixed" could be interpreted to mean making the trader’s plate fast, firm, or stable in a designated position, as evidenced by the dictionary definitions provided. The court accepted the defendant's evidence that he wedged the trader’s plate firmly into a position between the windscreen and the dashboard of his van, and held it in place with the help of a towel. The fact that the plate was dislodged during the collision did not, in the court's view, negate that it had been "fixed" to the van at the time of the accident.

The court concluded that the defendant had indeed fixed the trader’s plate to his van as required by the Act, and thus the insurer was liable to indemnify the defendant for the plaintiff's injuries. The judgment was in favor of the defendant on the indemnity proceedings against the insurer. The court noted that the plaintiff had a valid reason to sue both the defendant and the insurer, and it would hear submissions on the appropriate orders for costs in light of this determination.