Tran v The Government Insurance Office of NSW (No 2)

The parties to this appeal were the plaintiff, Mr. Tran, and the defendant, the Government Insurance Office of New South Wales. The dispute concerned the plaintiff's entitlement to interest on a settlement sum awarded in a motor accident claim. The appeal was heard by the New South Wales Court of Appeal.

The central legal issue before the Court was whether the plaintiff was entitled to an award of interest under section 73(4) of the *Motor Accidents Act 1988* (NSW). This section provides for interest on damages awarded in certain circumstances, but it is contingent on the plaintiff having made a settlement offer that was not accepted by the defendant. The specific question was whether the plaintiff's settlement offer, which included a fixed sum "plus costs," should be assessed for the purpose of the statutory threshold by disregarding the value of the costs.

The Court reasoned that the purpose of section 73(4) was to encourage early settlement by penalising defendants who unreasonably refuse reasonable settlement offers. It was held that the phrase "plus costs" in the settlement offer was intended to represent the costs incurred by the plaintiff up to the date of the offer, and that these costs were not to be included when determining whether the offer was within the statutory threshold for awarding interest. The Court found that the offer was effectively for a fixed sum, and that the value of the costs was to be disregarded in assessing whether the offer was more favourable than the judgment ultimately obtained.

The Court of Appeal ordered that the appeal be dismissed, with the result that the plaintiff was not entitled to the interest claimed.