Decided 05 September 1990 Location Australia Ruling court High Court of Australia | Subsequent action(s) none End date September 5, 1990 | |
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Full case name Commonwealth v Bernard Leonardus Verwayen Citation(s) [1990] HCA 39; (1990) 170 CLR 394 Judge(s) sitting Mason CJ, Brennan, Deane, Dawson, Toohey, Gaudron & McHugh JJ Similar Waltons Stores (Interstate, Crabb v Arun DC, Dillwyn v Llewelyn, Central London Property, Hughes v Metropolitan Rly Co | ||
Commonwealth v Verwayen [1990] HCA 39; (1990) 170 CLR 394 is a leading case about Estoppel in Australia.
Contents
Background
Verwayen was a leading electrical mechanic in the RAN serving on the HMAS Voyager, and was injured in the collision with the HMAS Melbourne on 10 February 1964.
He later sued the government for damages for his injuries. In January 1985, the crown solicitor wrote to his solicitor stating: "As you have pointed out, the Commonwealth has admitted negligence and is not pressing the statutory limitation period as a defence. Nevertheless, it still expects claimants to show that they have suffered injury ... and to prove the extent of their injuries and resultant loss, in order to justify an award of damages."
However, 10 months later, the crown solicitor reversed this position, and proceeded again with their "absolute defence" that Verwayen's claim was barred by the statute of limitations.
Verwayen later received an Order of Australia Medal for his works in assisting other services personnel.
Held
The court ruled that estoppel applied, and as such, the commonwealth could not plead any limitation defence.