Zeait v Insurance Australia Limited t/as NRMA

[2017] NSWSC 1158

Supreme Court

New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation:	Zeait v Insurance Australia Limited t/as NRMA [2017] NSWSC 1158
Hearing dates:	22 August 2017
Decision date:	31 August 2017
Jurisdiction:	Common Law
Before:	Adamson J
Decision:	(1) Summons dismissed.  (2) Unless either party makes an application in writing to my Associate within seven days hereof, order the plaintiff to pay the defendant’s costs of the proceedings.
Catchwords:	APPEAL – where defendant refused to pay claim on policy of comprehensive motor insurance – whether there was a reasonable apprehension of bias where magistrate had read an earlier appeal decision in same proceedings – whether magistrate was in error in drawing inference adverse to plaintiff for failure to call a witness regarded as being in plaintiff’s “camp” – whether magistrate erred in failing to provide adequate reasons – whether it was open to magistrate to find that claim excluded because collision was intentional – magistrate not satisfied that claim made fraudulently – HELD – no reasonable apprehension of bias where magistrate had disclosed to parties he had read earlier decision and where no parties had objected – magistrate did not err in drawing inference adverse to plaintiff for failure to call a witness – reasons provided by magistrate sufficiently set out – magistrate’s finding that plaintiff not entitled to be indemnified by defendant not in error where damage to vehicle was proved to be caused intentionally and excluded – no inconsistency between finding on exclusion clause and no finding that claim made fraudulently – appeal dismissed
Legislation Cited:	Insurance Contracts Act 1984 (Cth), s 56 Local Court Act 2007 (NSW), ss 39, 40
Cases Cited:	Allied Pastoral Holdings Pty Ltd v Commissioner of Taxation [1983] 1 NSWLR 1 Briginshaw v Briginshaw (1938) 60 CLR 336; [1938] HCA 34 Browne v Dunn (1893) 6 R 67 Ebner v Official Trustee in Bankruptcy (2000) 205 CLR 337; [2000] HCA 63 Hot Holdings Pty Limited v Creasy (2002) 210 CLR 438; [2002] HCA 51 Johnson v Johnson (2000) 201 CLR 488; [2000] HCA 48 Jones v Dunkel (1959) 101 CLR 298 Minister for Aboriginal Affairs v Peko-Wallsend Limited (1986) 162 CLR 24; [1986] HCA 40 Onassis and Calerropolous v Vergiottis [1968] 2 Lloyds Rep 403 R v Markuleski (2001) 52 NSWLR 82; [2001] NSWCCA 290 Re Refugee Review Tribunal; Ex Parte H [2001] HCA 28; (2001) 75 ALJR 982 The Nominal Defendant v Kostic [2007] NSWCA 14 To v Australian Associated Motor Insurers Ltd (2001) 3 VR 279; [2001] VSCA 48
Category:	Principal judgment
Parties:	Nini Zeait (Plaintiff) Insurance Australia Limited t/as NRMA (ABN 11 000 016 722)(Defendant)
Representation:	Counsel: J Jobson (Plaintiff) G Carolan (Defendant)   Solicitors: Andresakis & Associates (Plaintiff) MCK Lawyers (Defendant)
File Number(s):	2016/351952
Decision under appeal	Court or tribunal: Local Court of New South Wales Jurisdiction: Civil Date of Decision: 2 November 2016 Before: Tsavdaridis LCM File Number(s): 2014/105601

Judgment

Introduction

1. By summons filed on 24 November 2016 the plaintiff, Nini Zeait, appeals pursuant to s 39 of the Local Court Act 2007 (NSW) and, to the extent necessary, seeks leave to appeal pursuant to s 40 of the Local Court Act from the decision of Tsavdaridis LCM on 2 November 2016 in so far as it relates to the judgment entered against them in favour of the defendant, Insurance Australia Ltd t/as NRMA Insurance. The defendant opposes the relief sought. As the plaintiff was the plaintiff in the Court below and the defendant was the defendant in the Court below, each will be referred to by this description in these reasons.

2. The substantive relief sought by the plaintiff is that the appeal be allowed; the judgment of the Local Court be set aside; that there be judgment for the plaintiff on the statement of claim; and that the defendant be ordered to pay their costs. In the alternative to the orders for judgment, the plaintiff seeks an order that the matter be remitted to the Local Court for re-hearing.

The proceedings in the Court below

3. In the Court below the plaintiff claimed a liquidated sum of $60,050 from the defendant which she alleged constituted the agreed value of her motor vehicle (the Plaintiff’s Vehicle) which was insured by the defendant under a policy of comprehensive motor insurance. She alleged that the vehicle was involved in an accident in which it sustained “extreme damage” ([5] of the statement of claim). In its defence, the defendant admitted the policy of insurance and that the agreed value of the Plaintiff’s Vehicle was $60,500. In response to [5] of the statement of claim, and following, the defendant alleged:

“4.    The defendant denies the matters alleged in paragraph 5 of the statement of claim.

(a)    The plaintiff was not involved in an accident as alleged or at all.

(b)    The plaintiff or someone acting with the plaintiff’s knowledge and consent caused deliberate damage to the vehicle.

5. The defendant denies the matters alleged in paragraph 6 of the statement of claim.

(a)    The plaintiff has failed to prove that the damage that has been claimed was caused by an event covered by the policy.

(b)    The plaintiff has failed to prove that there was an accidental collision that gave rise to a loss that is claimable pursuant to the insurance policy.

6. The defendant denies the plaintiffs claim for damages and interest.

7. The defendant says that the plaintiff breached her obligations to the plaintiff [sic, defendant] by:

(a)    Failing to provide truthful answers to the plaintiff’s [sic, defendant’s] questions during the course of the claims investigation.

i. The NRMA Product Disclosure Statement;

ii. Section 13 of the Insurance Contracts Act 1984 (Cth).

(b)    Providing deliberately false information in order to deceive the defendant into accepting to pay the claim.

i. Section 56 of the Insurance Contracts Act 1984(Cth).

8. The defendant is entitled to refuse to pay the claim pursuant to section 56 of the Insurance Contracts Act 1984 (Cth).

(a)    The collision that the plaintiff claims gave rise to the claim either did not occur or if it occurred was not accidental.

(b)    The plaintiff in response to questions from the defendant provided answers which the plaintiff knew were false.

i. The plaintiff claimed the insured vehicle was driveable immediately after it was purchased from auction.

ii. The plaintiff claimed the insured vehicle was sometimes serviced at Marshalls at Parramatta.

iii. The plaintiff gave several inconsistent versions of the circumstances of the alleged collision and its aftermath, and the manner the collision was allegedly reported to the police.”

The result

4. In the Court below the plaintiff failed in her claim against the defendant. The hearing commenced on 1 November 2016 (Day 1) and concluded on 2 November 2016 (Day 2). At the conclusion of the hearing, his Honour delivered ex tempore reasons and ordered judgment in favour of the defendant. The plaintiff was ordered to pay the defendant’s costs on an ordinary basis up to and including 2 October 2014 and thereafter on an indemnity basis.

The magistrate’s reasons on liability

5. The magistrate identified the following facts as not being in dispute.

“(a) The Plaintiff was the holder of a comprehensive insurance policy with the Defendant.

(b) The agreed value of the motor vehicle was proffered by the insurer.

(c) The Plaintiff was involved in a motor vehicle collision on 1 August 2013.

(d) The Plaintiff claimed damages sustained in the motor vehicle collision on her comprehensive insurer.

(e) The insurer refused to indemnify the Plaintiff.

(f) The Defendant represented that the damage to the vehicle was such that it was to be designated a write-off.”

6. The Magistrate identified the following bases on which the defendant opposed the claim (at T 3.46-4.1-.41, Day 2):

“The Defendant's denial of the Plaintiff's claim was pleaded in its Defence as being founded on the following ten bases: -

(a)    The Plaintiff was not involved in an accident as alleged, or at all.

(b)    The Plaintiff, or someone acting with the Plaintiff's knowledge and consent, caused deliberate damage to the vehicle.

(c)    The Plaintiff failed to prove that the damage claimed was caused by an event covered by the policy.

(d)    The Plaintiff failed to prove that there was an accidental collision that gave rise to a loss that was claimable pursuant to the policy.

(e) The Plaintiff breached her contractual and statutory obligations to the Defendant by failing to provide truthful answers to questions asked of her during the course of the investigation of the claim, having regard to the policy document (Exhibit 5) and s.13 of the Insurance Contracts Act 1984 (Cth).

(f) The Plaintiff breached her statutory obligation to the Defendant by providing deliberately false information in order to deceive the Defendant into accepting to pay the claim, having regard to s.56 of the Insurance Contracts Act 1984 (Cth).

(g) The Defendant was entitled to refuse to pay the claim pursuant to s.56

of the Insurance Contracts Act 1984 (Cth) in that the collision that the Plaintiff asserts gave rise to the claim either did not occur or, if it did, was not accidental.

(h) The Defendant was entitled to refuse to pay the claim pursuant to s.56

of the Insurance Contracts Act 1984 (Cth) in that the Plaintiff, in response to questions asked of her as part of the investigation of the claim, provided answers which she knew were false.

(i) The Defendant was entitled to refuse to pay the claim pursuant to s.56

of the Insurance Contracts Act 1984 (Cth) in that the Plaintiff gave several inconsistent versions of the circumstances of the alleged collision, its aftermath, and the manner the collision was allegedly reported to Police.

(j) The Plaintiff breached her duty to be truthful and frank and to act with the utmost good faith, thereby completely prejudicing the Defendant's ability to investigate and determine the veracity of the Plaintiff's assertions, having regard to ss.13 and 54 of the Insurance ContractsAct 1984 (Cth).”

7. His Honour referred to authority in a manner which has not been the subject of challenge. He then recounted the various versions the plaintiff had given of the accident in her Statement of Evidence dated 7 August 2014; the telephone lodgement of her claim on 13 August 2013; her recorded interview with the defendant’s investigator, Mr Giampietro, on 31 October 2013; a further recorded interview with Mr Giampietro on 23 December 2013; and her oral evidence on 1 November 2016 in which she adopted her Statement of Evidence and was cross-examined. The plaintiff’s case solely comprised her evidence.

8. The defendant tendered the report of Mark George, an accident investigation reconstruction expert. His Honour summarised Mr George’s evidence in the reasons and identified the questions raised by Mr George about the accident. Mr George identified the material on which he relied, which included a statement of Salim Zeait, the plaintiff’s husband, dated 7 August 2014. Mr Jobson, who appeared in the Court below and in this Court on behalf of the plaintiff, tendered the statement of Mr Zeait in the cross-examination of Mr George, as being a document to which he had had regard.

9. His Honour also referred to the evidence of Suzanne Pankiw, who was described as an “independent witness”. Ms Pankiw swore an affidavit on 25 September 2014. There had been earlier proceedings in the Local Court on the same claim before Brown LCM but the orders made at the conclusion of proceedings were the subject of an appeal to this Court, as a consequence of which the orders made by the Local Court in the first proceedings were set aside and the matter remitted to the Local Court for hearing in accordance with law. Ms Pankiw had given evidence at the first proceedings, but was so unwell that she could not attend court for the second proceedings. Ultimately, the parties agreed that her evidence would comprise the affidavit, together with the transcript of her cross-examination in the Local Court on 22 June 2015, which was tendered.

10. The Magistrate summarised Ms Pankiw’s evidence in his reasons as follows. Ms Pankiw lived in the immediate vicinity of the roundabout where the accident involving the Plaintiff’s Vehicle is alleged to have occurred. Her residence overlooked the area. At approximately 8.30pm to 9pm, she was looking out the window, patting her cat, and she saw two cars at the roundabout. She distinguished between them on the basis that one was lighter and the other was darker. Her evidence was that the darker coloured car had stopped in the roundabout and “was stationary for one or two seconds when the other car came up very close and collided with the car in the roundabout". She also said: "I saw that after the collision, the car in the roundabout moved towards the kerb . . . [which] had grass on it. It looked to me like the car mounted the kerb after the collision." She said: "I then saw the car that was hit [the Plaintiff’s Vehicle] . . . whilst in the roundabout reverse back towards the roundabout" and "The car that hit the other car in the roundabout reversed a short distance, maybe several feet back and then drove into the car in the roundabout again." She estimated that the second collision happened two or three minutes after the first and that the impact from the collision was to the passenger side of the car in the roundabout. She said that “after the collision, a male get out of the car” and apparently spoke to the driver of the other car, the Plaintiff’s Vehicle, although she “did not see them exchange details”. She then saw the man get back into the car, and watched both cars drive away from the roundabout by driving up Chetwynd Road. Ms Pankiw also said that: "Maybe an hour after the two cars left the roundabout, the darker car, the one that was hit in the roundabout came back on Chetwynd Road and turned right at the roundabout onto Morris Street and drove away. I recall being surprised that he was still driving."

11. In cross-examination, Ms Pankiw confirmed that she had seen two collisions and that the persons in the vehicles had not got out of the cars between the two collisions, but only after the second. She said that she had not taken down the registration numbers and could not be sure that the car she saw an hour after the collisions was the same car but said that “it looked like it."

12. His Honour considered the evidence given by Ms Pankiw and the evidence given by the plaintiff and said that Ms Pankiw:

“(a)    was categorical about the vehicle reversing back and then hitting again;

(b)    was categorical about the Plaintiff’s vehicle being stationary in the roundabout for one or two seconds; and

(c)    was categorical about there being something in the order of two to three minutes between the first collision and the second collision.”

13. The Magistrate said, of Ms Pankiw’s evidence:

“It was an account (for all intents and purposes, and having regard to the comments of the High Court in Fox v Percy [2003] HCA 22 regarding incontrovertibility and noting that the examination-in-chief was as sparse as it was) which I accept as being an emphatically credible version, when coupled with the fact that there were a number of inconsistencies in the remaining evidence.”

14. His Honour noted that the plaintiff had not called her husband to give evidence in her case and noted Mr Jobson’s submission that no adverse inference in accordance with Jones v Dunkel (1959) 101 CLR 298 ought be drawn against the plaintiff as her husband’s statement had been tendered (in the circumstances set out above). Mr Jobson submitted that no Jones v Dunkel inference was available against the plaintiff but would be available against the defendant for not calling Mr Baalbaki, the driver of the other vehicle. The Magistrate considered that a Jones v Dunkel inference could be drawn against the plaintiff for not calling Mr Baalbaki. His Honour said, at T 24.28-.37, Day 2:

“The driver of the other vehicle was clearly someone who ought to have been called by the Plaintiff, not because [he] was a witness on whose evidence the Plaintiff relied during the first set of proceedings but, rather, because he was clearly a witness who could have corroborated the version given by the Plaintiff, or given evidence regarding the chronology of events on which the Plaintiff relies, or given evidence about the precise circumstances of the collision, or collisions - plural. Notwithstanding that there is no property in a witness, he was a witness who I understood to be in the Plaintiff's camp and whose evidence could have been tested so as to assist in resolving the ultimate dispute.”

15. His Honour resolved the conflict between the plaintiff’s evidence and Ms Pankiw’s evidence as follows, at T 25.22-.42, Day 2:

“The problem with the Plaintiff's evidence is that there were many inconsistencies. There were many imperfections. It was internally inconsistent across the various versions between the initial record of the lodgement of claim with the insurer on 13 August 2013; the first investigator's record of interview; the second investigator's record of interview; and then, externally inconsistent with the emphatic version provided by Ms Pankiw.

I found the Plaintiff's evidence, particularly her oral testimony in cross-examination, to be evasive, motivated and goal-orientated. She persisted in replying in the same way on a number of occasions in a manner which did not

join issue with the questions asked of her and which appeared, in my view, circuitous. Her account lacked actual persuasion.

I got the distinct impression that where she was cornered, she feigned a lack of recollection or provided responses which were a motivated attempt to explain away the inconsistency or the imperfection to which her attention was drawn. She was not a persuasive witness, in my view. I had difficulty accepting her evidence and found her to be unreliable. Her credibility in my opinion was substantially impugned in cross-examination, such that I did not find her to be a witness of truth. To the extent that there is any doubt, I preferred the evidence of eyewitness, Ms Pankiw, over the Plaintiffs evidence.”

16. At the conclusion of his reasons and before making orders, his Honour made the following findings of fact:

“On the balance of probabilities I make the following findings of fact and reach

the following conclusions:

1.    There were two collisions.

2.    The Plaintiff was untruthful at first instance when the claim was lodged over the phone in referring to one collision across the entire left side of her vehicle.

3.    The Plaintiff, in my view, tailored her evidence to explain away the evidence of the eyewitness, whose evidence was not robustly tested in cross-examination the first time, and was not called for cross-examination the second time, either via an adjournment or via telephone. I note that the transcript of her cross-examination by the Plaintiff's same counsel, without any criticism of him, is captured in one page and six lines of transcript, tendered by consent, in light of her somatic frailties to attend and give evidence in the rehearing before me.

4.    The Plaintiff's vehicle was stationary at the time the Plaintiff's vehicle was struck by the other vehicle.

5.    As a matter of discretion, I drew an inference adverse to the Plaintiff in her failure to call the other driver, Mr Baalbaki.

6.    The collision was not as a result of an accident proper, which occurred

the way the Plaintiff alleges and which falls within the parameters of the policy, but rather a staged collision, falling within the exclusionary provisions of the policy as being ‘loss or damage caused intentionally’, disentitling an insured to indemnity.

7.    Statutory fraud has not, in my view, been made out by the Defendant to the requisite standard.

8.    Rather, I did not consider the Plaintiff to be a credible and reliable witness in the account she gave.”

The grounds of appeal

17. The plaintiff alleged the following grounds of appeal in her summons:

“1    The finding of the Magistrate is against the weight of the evidence.

2    The Magistrate erred in failing to give any or adequate reasons for his finding [finding 6].

3    The Magistrate erred when in finding that an accident occurred the Plaintiff was not entitled to the indemnity sought in the pleadings.

4    The Magistrate erred in failing to give reasons why the Plaintiff was not entitled to rely upon the contract of insurance.

5    The Magistrate erred in that his finding was made in a perverse manner without regard to the evidence before him.

6    The Magistrate made erroneous findings of fact.

7    The Magistrate erred in law in relying upon irrelevant considerations.

8    The Magistrate failed to give reasons as to why the event was not covered by the policy.

9    The Magistrate erred in finding that there was a requirement of an accidental collision that gave rise to loss claimable pursuant to the insurance policy against the evidence.

10    The Magistrate erred in reviewing and referring to prior judgments thus tainting his judgment to the point of perceived biased.”

18. At the commencement of the hearing of the appeal Mr Jobson was granted leave (which was not opposed) to add the following ground, the substance of which was addressed in his written submissions:

“11   The Magistrate erred in inferring against the plaintiff for not calling Mr Baalbaki.”

19. Mr Jobson did not press ground 9. He did not expressly abandon other grounds. However, his submissions, which were not made by reference to any identified ground, largely concentrated on grounds 3, 4 and 10. I will endeavour to address the substance of his submissions and relate them, where possible, to the grounds set out above.

Alleged apprehension of bias (ground 10)

20. As referred to above, these proceedings, which were commenced in the Local Court by statement of claim filed on 8 April 2014, were the subject of an earlier appeal to this Court, as a result of which the judgment for the defendant was set aside and the matter remitted to the Local Court. The transcript of the proceedings before Tsavdaridis LCM shows that his Honour disclosed that he had read the judgment of Harrison AsJ in this Court. He revealed as much at the commencement of the hearing, in the following terms at T 1.25-.27, Day 1:

“Take it from me that I know what has transpired previously, having read the decision of Harrison AsJ who has referred it back to me for rehearing essentially.”

21. Shortly after this statement, when Mr Jobson foreshadowed an opening, his Honour said at T 2.28-.30, Day 1:

“As I have said, I have read her Honour’s decision in the Supreme Court, so I know a little bit about why it’s back here. I know a little bit about the dispute. I haven’t obviously heard evidence.”

22. In the course of the defendant’s brief opening (before the plaintiff called evidence), his Honour said at T 5.7-.15, Day 1, when Mr Jobson said that he was taken by surprise by the suggestion that there were three impacts:

“I have to say--- . . . that having read her Honour’s judgment in the Supreme Court, having had to read her Honour’s judgment to understand why the matter was back here, I understood that her Honour had come to the view that there were two impacts. In fact, both the plaintiff and Mr Balbackey [Baalbaki, the other driver] had asserted that there were two impacts.”

23. At T 6, Day 1, Mr Jobson said that he wanted the opportunity to cross-examine Ms Pankiw, to which his Honour responded at T 6.43-.44, Day 1:

“So much of what his Honour Dr Brown [the magistrate in the first hearing] had to say on the last occasion rested on this witness.”

24. At T 8, Day 1 in the Court below, there was then a further discussion about the unavailability of Ms Pankiw due to her ill-health. Tsavdaridis LCM raised the issue that Brown LCM, who had heard the matter on the first hearing and who had, accordingly, heard Ms Pankiw give evidence, was not available. At T 9.17-.20, Day 1, Tsavdaridis LCM said:

“She [Harrison AsJ] was of the view that he [Brown LCM] should have gone one step further and said, ‘Having found as I have these findings of fact, I now turn to the policy which says that accidents are compensable, staged collisions are not.’ Had he said that, we wouldn’t be here today.”

25. The question of what ought be done about Ms Pankiw’s evidence was, as referred to above, resolved by agreement.

26. On none of the occasions referred to above when Tsavdaridis LCM indicated that he had read the decision of Harrison AsJ did either party object.

27. In the reasons for decision Tsavdaridis LCM said, of present relevance at T 2.5-.30, Day 2:

“The proceedings have a lengthy history, in part because they were the subject of a hearing before Dr Brown LCM on 17 March 2015 and 22 June 2015, with a decision on 30 July 2015, which concluded in his Honour entering a verdict for the Defendant, following which an appeal by the Plaintiff to the Supreme Court of NSW (Zeait v Insurance Australia Limited t/as NRMA Insurance [2016] NSWSC 587) resulted in Harrison AsJ remitting the matter to this Court to be dealt with according to law. Her Honour identified the error in Dr Brown's determination thus (at [37]):

‘After the Magistrate accepted Ms Pankiw's evidence and found the Plaintiff's witnesses not credible, although he did not explain why this was so, he did not explain whether his decision was based upon a finding that the Plaintiff's claim was not covered by the policy of insurance because the accident had been staged by Ms Zeait or upon some other basis. His Honour also did not reveal how his finding that Ms Pankiw's evidence was credible led him to find that the Plaintiff was not entitled to payment under the policy of insurance.’

It was contended by Mr Jobson that the proceedings before me were a rehearing proper and, notwithstanding my awareness of the earlier proceedings, no part of the hearing before me should be influenced by any findings made in the earlier hearing. I agree with this submission. It was, in my view, entirely appropriate, however, that I inform myself of the reasons for decision of the Supreme Court, given that Court's role in correcting errors of law occasioned in lower courts. I was not taken by the parties to any rule or practice which suggested otherwise.”

[Emphasis added.]

28. Mr Jobson also relied on finding 6 (set out above), on T 16.21-.25, day 2 in which Tsavdaridis LCM said:

“6.    The collision was not as a result of an accident proper, which occurred

the way the Plaintiff alleges and which falls within the parameters of the policy, but rather a staged collision, falling within the exclusionary provisions of the policy as being ‘loss or damage caused intentionally’, disentitling an insured to indemnity.”

29. Mr Jobson also relied on the passage from the reasons at T 24.29-.30, Day 2, which is set out above, in which Tsavdaridis LCM revealed his knowledge that the plaintiff had relied on the evidence of Mr Baalbaki in the first hearing but not the second.

30. Mr Jobson argued that a fair-minded lay observer who read this part of the judgment might reasonably observe that Tsavdaridis LCM would not bring an impartial and unprejudiced mind to the resolution of the question: Johnson v Johnson (2000) 201 CLR 488; [2000] HCA 48 at [11] (Gleeson CJ, Gaudron, McHugh, Gummow and Hayne JJ). He submitted that the Magistrate found exactly what Brown LCM had found: that the accident was staged and that the plaintiff ought not be believed. Mr Jobson contended that:

“The Magistrate has in finding as he has done tailored the conclusion to support a pre-determined outcome.”

31. The relevant test for apprehended bias was as stated in Re Refugee Review Tribunal; Ex Parte H [2001] HCA 28; (2001) 75 ALJR 982 at [28] (Gleeson CJ, Gaudron and Gummow JJ):

“[whether] a hypothetical fair minded lay person who is properly informed as to the nature of the proceedings, the matters in issue and the conduct which is said to give rise to an apprehension of bias [would reach that conclusion].”

32. The principle, as articulated in Ebner v Official Trustee in Bankruptcy (2000) 205 CLR 337; [2000] HCA 63 at [6] (Gleeson CJ, McHugh, Gummow and Hayne JJ) is:

“. . . a judge [or other decision-maker] is disqualified if a fair-minded lay observer might reasonably apprehend that the judge [or other decision-maker] might not bring an impartial mind to the resolution of the question the judge is required to decide.”

[Footnotes omitted.]

33. I reject the plaintiff’s submissions that there was any reasonable apprehension of bias. The judgments of this Court on appeal from the Local Court are intended, not only to correct error in particular cases, but also to have a salutary effect on magistrates, who are entitled to read such decisions for guidance, just as judges of this Court read decisions of courts, including those which are higher in the judicial hierarchy. The insinuation that a reasonably fair-minded observer would draw the inference alleged is, in my view, misplaced. The hypothetical fair-minded observer is to be assumed to be aware of the actual circumstances of the case: Hot Holdings Pty Limited v Creasy (2002) 210 CLR 438; [2002] HCA 51 at [68] and [76] (McHugh J). In the present case, such a person would, on this hypothesis, know that his Honour disclosed to the parties at the outset of the hearing that he had read the decision; that no party raised any objection to his Honour having done so; that his Honour had accepted Mr Jobson’s submission that he ought not permit himself to be influenced by any part of what occurred before Brown LCM; and that his Honour had expressly confirmed that he accepted that submission in the reasons for decision. Moreover, such a person would have been aware from the terms of his Honour’s reasons that, although he was aware that Mr Baalbaki had given evidence at the first hearing, this was not the reason why his Honour considered Mr Baalbaki to be in the plaintiff’s camp.

34. Moreover, Mr Jobson’s submission had an air of unreality about it. The principal issue in the proceedings was, to put it in the simplest of terms, whether the accident was a real accident or one which was staged to enable the plaintiff to obtain a pay-out from the defendant. That two successive magistrates found that it fell into the latter category is unsurprising when the defendant relied on evidence from a disinterested witness, Ms Pankiw, as to what had occurred. The plaintiff’s version was redolent with inconsistencies, which amounted to a further reason to prefer the evidence of Ms Pankiw.

35. Far from tailoring his conclusion to a pre-determined outcome (as the plaintiff alleged) Tsavdaridis LCM came to conclusions after extensive and detailed reasons which were delivered ex tempore at the conclusion of the hearing. I reject this ground.

Alleged error in drawing an inference adverse to the plaintiff from her failure to call Mr Baalbaki (ground 11)

36. Mr Jobson submitted that the Magistrate was in error in regarding Mr Baalbaki as being in the plaintiff’s “camp”. I have already addressed this submission in the context of the allegation that there was a reasonable apprehension of bias. I propose to deal with this submission now in the context of the allegation that the Court below was in error in drawing an inference adverse to the plaintiff from her failure to call Mr Baalbaki. Mr Jobson endeavoured to support this submission by pointing out that the defendant had tendered the record of the plaintiff’s two interviews with its investigator in which, on occasions, the plaintiff was asked about the version which had been given by Baalbaki. This submission appears to have been based on the misapprehension that the questions in a record of interview form part of the evidence irrespective of the answers.

37. In effect, Mr Jobson submitted that the defendant had adopted Mr Baalbaki’s version by having its investigator put his version to the plaintiff in interviews and that therefore Mr Baalbaki was in the defendant’s camp. This submission misapprehends the process of investigation, which involves a process of questioning to ascertain, in the case of a motor accident, what actually happened when the vehicles are said to have collided. It does not follow from the fact that the investigator put Mr Baalbaki’s version to the plaintiff that it was the “defendant’s case” that Mr Baalbaki’s version was correct. Effectively, Mr Jobson’s submission in this Court rested on the false premise that the rules and conventions of court procedure relating to the need for one party to put its case to the other party’s witnesses apply to a motor accident investigation. When a proposition is put to a witness by counsel for a party in cross-examination, this signifies that the proposition forms part of the case of the party for whom the cross-examiner appears. This principle is the foundation of the rule in Browne v Dunn (1893) 6 R 67: see Allied Pastoral Holdings Pty Ltd v Commissioner of Taxation [1983] 1 NSWLR 1 at 26 (Hunt J). This rule has no application in an investigation such as the one conducted by the defendant in respect of the alleged accident. The Court below did not err in not considering this circumstance to be relevant to which party’s camp Mr Baalbaki belonged to.

38. The question whether a Jones v Dunkel inference is available is largely a question of fact since it requires an assessment of what “camp”, if any, the witness falls within. In the present case, the Magistrate found that Mr Baalbaki was in the plaintiff’s camp because he could have corroborated the plaintiff’s version, or given evidence regarding the chronology of events on which the plaintiff relied, or given evidence about the precise circumstances of the collision, or collisions. It is not part of this Court’s jurisdiction to revisit questions of fact. If the question is a mixed question of law and fact, I decline leave as I regard the Magistrate’s assessment of what inference was appropriate to be pre-eminently one of fact. I discern no error in the Magistrate’s approach. Moreover, finding 5 on T 26 (Day 2) appears to have had little, if any impact, as his Honour accepted the evidence of Ms Pankiw, which he preferred over the plaintiff’s evidence.

The Magistrate erred in failing to give any or adequate reasons for his finding 6 (ground 2)

39. Mr Jobson developed this ground in oral submissions and confirmed that the finding referred to was finding 6 (set out above). He contended that all that his Honour did was to set out the different versions which had been given by the plaintiff at various times and found that he preferred the evidence of Ms Pankiw. He submitted that his Honour’s reasons were inadequate to explain that preference, which he accepted formed the basis for finding 6. He relied on the following passage from The Nominal Defendant v Kostic [2007] NSWCA 14, in which Ipp JA (Hodgson and Campbell JJA agreeing) said:

“[58]    In my reasons in Goodrich Aerospace Pty Ltd v Arsic (with which Mason P and Tobias JA agreed), I said (at [28]):

‘It is not appropriate for a trial judge merely to set out the evidence adduced by one side, then the evidence adduced by another, and then assert that having seen and heard the witnesses he or she prefers or believes the evidence of the one and not the other. If that were to be the law, many cases could be resolved at the end of the evidence simply by the judge saying: ‘I believe Mr X but not Mr Y and judgment follows accordingly’. . [.]’

The judge’s reasons on the main issue in this case come close to this description; I would add, however, that the judge did not even set out the evidence adduced by each side.

[59]    In Beale v Government Insurance Office of New South Wales(1997) 48 NSWLR 430, Meagher JA (at 443) commented on what he described as the ‘fundamental elements of a statement of reasons’. Two of these elements are particularly apposite in this case. Firstly, a judge is required to refer to relevant evidence. Meagher JA said in this regard:

‘There is no need to refer to the relevant evidence in detail, especially in circumstances where it is clear that the evidence has been considered. However, where certain evidence is important or critical to the proper determination of the matter and it is not referred to by the trial judge, an appellate court may infer that the trial judge overlooked the evidence or failed to give consideration to it … Where conflicting evidence of a significant nature is given, the existence of both sets of evidence should be referred to.’

Secondly, a judge should set out any material findings of fact and any conclusions or ultimate findings of fact reached. Where reference is not made to findings of fact, an appellate court may infer that the trial judge considered the finding to be immaterial. Where one set of evidence is accepted over a conflicting set of significant evidence, the trial judge should set out his or her findings as to how he or she comes to accept the one over the other. This does not mean that a judge must make explicit findings on each disputed piece of evidence, especially if the inference as to what is found is appropriately clear.”

40. I am not persuaded that this ground has been made out. In my view, his Honour set out sufficiently his reasons for preferring the evidence of Ms Pankiw to that of the plaintiff in the passages set out above, which formed the basis of finding 6. That a witness, particularly one who is a party, and therefore interested in the outcome of the proceedings, makes several inconsistent statements (the plaintiff in the present case) is of particular significance, particularly when weighed against the evidence of a disinterested eye-witness whose evidence is consistent (Ms Pankiw): see the discussion of credibility in Onassis and Calerropolous v Vergiottis [1968] 21 Lloyds Rep 403 at 431.

Alleged error that the plaintiff was not entitled to be indemnified under that contract of insurance (ground 3) and alleged failure to give reasons for that finding (ground 4)

41. Mr Jobson submitted that it was not open to his Honour to find that the plaintiff was not entitled to be indemnified under the policy in circumstances where his Honour expressly rejected the defendant’s claim that the plaintiff’s claim was fraudulent within the meaning of s 56 of the Insurance Contracts Act 1984 (Cth). In order to address this submission it is necessary to analyse the pleaded defence and his Honour’s reasons.

42. It can be seen from the parts of the defence extracted above that the defendant denied liability on bases which included: first, that the claim was excluded under the contract of insurance ([4(a) and (b)] of the defence); and, secondly, that the defendant was entitled to refuse payment of the plaintiff’s claim pursuant to s 56(1) of the Insurance Contracts Act on the ground that it was made fraudulently ([7] and [8] of the defence).

43. The basis of the allegation made in [4(a) and (b)] was the exclusion on page 23 of the Product disclosure statement and policy booklet, which was in evidence as Exhibit 5 (the Policy), of:

“loss or damage caused intentionally by you, or a person acting with your express or implied consent.”

44. As has been set out above, in finding 6, his Honour found that the defendant had proved that the damage to the Plaintiff’s Vehicle was “loss or damage caused intentionally”: T 26.24, Day 2. His Honour also found that the Plaintiff’s Vehicle was stationary at the time it was struck by the other vehicle: finding 4 at T 26.15-.16, Day 2. Accordingly, his Honour found that the exclusion clause applied and the defendant was, as a consequence, not liable to pay the plaintiff’s claim. This was the basis on which judgment was entered for the defendant.

45. His Honour was not satisfied that the defence under s 56(1) of the Insurance Contracts Act had been made out. Section 56(1) of the Insurance Contracts Act provides:

“56   Fraudulent claims

(1)  Where a claim under a contract of insurance, or a claim made under this Act against an insurer by a person who is not the insured under a contract of insurance, is made fraudulently, the insurer may not avoid the contract but may refuse payment of the claim.”

46. His Honour said, in finding 7 (T 26.26-.28, Day 2), that the defendant had not made out statutory fraud.

47. Mr Jobson submitted, in effect, that the defendant had not pleaded the exclusion and the magistrate had not sufficiently identified the exclusion clause, or its terms, in the reasons for decision such that it was not possible to discern on what basis the plaintiff’s claim had failed. I reject this argument. It was plain from [4] of the defence that the defendant relied on the exclusion on page 23 of the Policy set out above. Mr Carolan, who appeared for the defendant in this Court as well as in the Court below, identified the page of the Policy and the specific exclusion relied on in his submissions (which on this point were given before Mr Jobson’s submissions commenced), at T 55.8-.18, Day 1. At no point in the hearing below did Mr Jobson indicate that he was taken by surprise by this submission, which I consider to be in entirely in accordance with the defendant’s pleaded case and the evidence it had adduced. Moreover, Mr Jobson specifically addressed the magistrate in the Court below on the question whether the collision was “deliberate”, which picked up the terms of the exclusion clause relied upon by the defendant and corresponded with his Honour’s finding that the damage was “intentionally caused”.

48. In finding 6 his Honour referred to the exclusion in terms. There was no unfairness to the plaintiff from the defendant’s raising the issue in its defence or from his Honour’s finding.

49. In addition, Mr Jobson appeared to contend that there was such an inconsistency between the finding regarding the exclusion clause and the finding that statutory fraud had not been made out that I should infer error. He submitted, in effect, that the Court below could not rationally have found both that the exclusion clause had been made out but that statutory fraud had not been. In order to address this submission it is necessary to consider what it means to make a claim “fraudulently” within the meaning of s 56(1) of the Insurance Contracts Act.

50. If the insured makes a false statement with knowledge in a claim to induce the insurer to meet the claim, the claim is made fraudulently. The dishonest intent is established by the making of a statement which is false to the insured’s knowledge at the time it is made. It does not matter for these purposes whether the false statement is material to the insured’s claim: To v Australian Associated Motor Insurers Ltd(2001) 3 VR 279; [2001] VSCA 48 at [19]-[23] (Buchanan J, Charles and Calloway JJA agreeing). Thus, in this context, proof that the plaintiff’s claim was made fraudulently requires proof to the requisite standard, the balance of probabilities, having regard to the “reasonable satisfaction” required in light of the seriousness of the allegation: Briginshaw v Briginshaw (1938) 60 CLR 336 at 362 (Dixon J); [1938] HCA 34.

51. While it would be difficult to conclude that one could find the exclusion clause made out without finding at least some element of dishonesty, what is required to prove the exclusion clause is substantially different from that which is required to be proved to establish fraud under s 56(1) of the Insurance Contracts Act. In the latter instance, the defendant was obliged to prove that particular statements were false to the knowledge of the plaintiff at the time they were made. Moreover it would be open to the tribunal of fact to consider that the “reasonable satisfaction” required to find that the defence under s 56(1) of the Insurance Contracts Act was made out was greater than that required to be satisfied that the defendant had discharged the onus of proving the exclusion clause. As the passage set out above from T 3-4, Day 2, of the reasons shows, the magistrate plainly distinguished between the various bases on which the defendant defended the claim. In particular, his Honour distinguished between the allegation that the claim was excluded by the Policy and the allegation of statutory fraud.

52. A useful analogy can be drawn between the present case, which arises in a civil context, and a challenge to jury verdicts following a criminal trial on the grounds that they are inconsistent. The Court of Criminal Appeal considered the question in R v Markuleski (2001) 52 NSWLR 82; [2001] NSWCCA 290, in which a jury returned a verdict of acquittal on one count preferred in an indictment charging multiple counts of sexual offences and convicted in respect of the other counts. Wood CJ at CL said:

“[221]    In the context of a system of justice that requires proof of criminality beyond reasonable doubt, the occurrence of different verdicts is entirely to be expected and is understandable. As is often said of such a system, acquittal does not amount to a positive finding that the act alleged did not occur, or that the evidence of the complainant or central witness concerning it was rejected as a lie, or as lacking in credibility: R v Girgines (Supreme Court of Victoria, Court of Appeal, 26 March 1996, unreported).

[222]    What it can involve is proof falling short of satisfaction beyond reasonable doubt of one or more of the elements of the offence charged. In the context of a case involving stringent warnings of the kind required by Longman and by R v Murray (1987) 11 NSWLR 12, or those customarily given where the prosecution case depends essentially upon an accomplice or prison informer, it is often well understandable that a jury would be hesitant to convict without necessarily finding that the complainant or central witness was altogether lacking in credibility.”

53. That the magistrate was disinclined to find statutory fraud reflected, in my view, no more than an appropriate reluctance to make such a serious finding against a party, in light of the evidence. While the Court below was prepared to conclude that the “accident” was not, in truth, accidental (thus establishing the exclusion relied upon by the defendant that the damage was caused intentionally), his Honour was not prepared to conclude that the plaintiff had made any particular statement to the defendant which was false to her knowledge at the time it was made in order to obtain payment of her claim. In my view, his Honour’s reasons are ample to explain both findings. I am not persuaded that error has been shown.

Alleged failure to take account of relevant considerations

54. Mr Jobson submitted that his Honour had erred in failing to take into account the circumstance that Mr Baalbaki made a claim in respect of the same accident which was paid by the defendant. I was unable to discern the ground to which this submission related.

55. The first, but not the only, answer to this submission is that a matter of fact cannot be a mandatory relevant consideration in the absence of a statutory provision which has that effect, either expressly or by necessary implication: Minister for Aboriginal Affairs v Peko-Wallsend Limited (1986) 162 CLR 24 at 39-40 (Mason J).

56. Secondly, it is difficult to see why the payment of Mr Baalbaki’s claim is relevant, in circumstances where the evidence established that it was accepted to be valid on 21 August 2013 and finalised on 29 August 2013, prior to Ms Pankiw being interviewed by the defendant’s investigator on 30 October 2013 ([19] of Ms Pankiw’s affidavit of 25 September 2014). Without Ms Pankiw’s evidence, the defendant had no apparent reason to believe that the claim was other than genuine and, presumably, paid Mr Baalbaki’s claim on that basis. However, before the plaintiff’s claim was paid, the defendant became aware of what Ms Pankiw saw and, as a consequence, declined to pay the plaintiff’s claim.

Alleged failure to put to the plaintiff that it was a staged accident

57. Mr Jobson submitted that the defendant failed to put to the plaintiff that the accident was staged and failed to put Ms Pankiw’s evidence to the plaintiff. I have been unable to relate this submission to any alleged ground. However, having considered the cross-examination of the plaintiff as a whole, and in particular the questions asked of her at T 38.49-39.29, Day 1, I reject the submission. Among other propositions put to the plaintiff, it was suggested to her in cross-examination that the damage to her car was not caused in the way described in her evidence. Moreover the affidavit of Ms Pankiw was served in accordance with the directions of the Court such that the plaintiff had notice of the basis of the defendant’s defence. Thus, even had the propositions not been put as directly as they were at T 38-39, Day 1, the plaintiff was plainly on notice of the case she had to meet: Allied Pastoral Holdings Pty Ltd v Commissioner of Taxation at 26 (Hunt J).

Alleged failure on the part of the defendant to act in good faith

58. Once again, Mr Jobson did not relate this submission to any ground in the summons. He submitted that the Court below ought to have found that the defendant failed to act in good faith and that, had this finding been made, the plaintiff would have succeeded. It was open to the Court below to find, as his Honour did, that the exclusion clause applied and that, accordingly, the plaintiff was not entitled to payment of her claim. I do not discern any proper basis on which the magistrate could, or should, have found that the defendant acted in bad faith.

Conclusion

59. None of the grounds alleged in the summons or otherwise raised in the plaintiff’s submissions has been made out. Accordingly, the summons must be dismissed. I have not heard the parties on costs. Absent any other consideration it is appropriate that they follow the event. However, in order to give the parties an opportunity to make an application for a different order, I will make provision for that in my orders, which are set out below.

Orders

60. I make the following orders:

1. Summons dismissed.

2. Unless either party makes an application in writing to my Associate within seven days hereof, order the plaintiff to pay the defendant’s costs of the proceedings.

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Decision last updated: 31 August 2017