A Daily Bulletin listing selected decisions
of Superior Courts of Australia

Tuesday, 3 March 2015

Case Summaries

BlueScope Steel Ltd v Cartwright [2015] NSWCA 25
 
In this Court of Appeal of New South Wales case the employer of a truck driver had contracted with a steel manufacturer for the transport of steel in containers.
 
The truck driver was driving a prime mover with an attached trailer carrying a heavy container. The trailer lurched and rolled truck, injuring the driver, who subsequently claimed damages for those injuries.
 
The primary judge held that the accident was caused by the tipping of an unstable load and that both the manufacturer and the employer had breached their duty of care to the truck driver. The manufacturer had the primary liability due to its inadequate packing system, which the employer was contractually required to follow.  Liability was apportioned at 85% for the steel manufacturer and 15% for the employer.
 
However the Court of Appeal came to a different finding, and held that the accident would not have occurred unless the prime mover was travelling at a speed in excess of the limit. The truck driver had failed to establish that inadequacy of wedges caused the accident and was entirely responsible for his injuries.
 
The appeal was therefore allowed.

Read full summaries »
    McGeown v NSW Land and Housing Corporation [2015] NSWCA 23
     
    This was a case in the Court of Appeal of New South Wales in which the parties had entered into a lease in respect of a residential unit.
     
    The New South Wales Civil and Administrative Tribunal terminated the residential tenancy agreement on the basis that the applicant had ceased to personally to occupy the premises.
     
    An Appeal Panel upheld the Tribunal’s decision that the applicant was in breach of  the lease and that the respondent was entitled to an order requiring the applicant to give up possession.
     
    The Court of Appeal held that at the time the respondent served the Notice of Termination, the applicant had been incarcerated for about eight months. The applicant had therefore ceased to be in personal occupation of premises and had thereby breached the lease.
     
    The appeal was dismissed.

« Read Less

Podcast Archive