South Pacific Air Motive Pty Ltd & Anor v Magnus, Kenneth & Ors [1998] FCA 1107

FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

AVIATION LAW – Aircraft – Carriage by air – Claim for psychological injury suffered by passengers and non-passengers following the ditching of an aeroplane – Claims made after expiration of two years and in reliance on causes of action other than liability under the Civil Aviation (Carriers' Liability) Act 1959 (Cth) – Whether the Civil Aviation (Carriers' Liability) Act embraces psychological injury suffered by passengers and non-passengers as a result of an aeroplane accident. Carriage By Air Act 1935 (Cth), s 3. Civil Aviation (Carriers' Liability) Act 1959 (Cth), ss 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 25A, 25D-25N, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40. Civil Aviation (Carriers' Liability) Amendment Act 1991 (Cth). Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth), ss 52, 53, 82. Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1944 (NSW), s 4. Workers' Compensation Act 1916 (Qld), s 8. Wrongs Act 1936 (SA), ss 23A, 23C. Compensation (Fatal Injuries) Act 1974 (NT), s 10. Carriage by Air Act 1932 (UK), s 1. Carriage by Air Act 1961 (UK), ss 3, 4. Federal Court Rules, O 20 r 2, O 29 r 2. Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules Relating to International Carriage by Air, open for Signature at Warsaw on 12 October 1929 (Warsaw Convention), Arts 1, 3, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 29, 36. Protocol to Amend the Warsaw Convention, (Hague Protocol) Art 19. K M Beaumont, "Need for Revision and Amplification of the Warsaw Convention" (1949) 16 Journal of Air Law and Commerce 395. J G Fleming, The Law of Torts (8th ed 1990). P C Haanappel, "The Right to sue in Death Cases under the Warsaw Convention" (1981) 6 Air Law 66. A F Lowenfeld and A I Mendelsohn, "The United States and the Warsaw Convention" (1967) Harv L Rev 497. H Luntz, Assessment of Damages (3rd ed 1990). Shawcross and Beaumont, Air Law (4th ed). C Whitting, "A Primer on the Modern Law of 'Nervous Shock'" (1998) 22 Melbourne L Rev 62. Adelaide Steamship Co Ltd v Spalvins (1988) 152 ALR 418, cited. Air France v Saks 470 US 392 (1985), cited. American Airlines Inc v Georgeopoulos (NSW CA, 26 September 1996, unreported), discussed. American Airlines Inc v Georgeopoulos (No 2) (NSW CA, 5 August 1998, unreported), cited. Anderson v Liddy (1949) 49 SR (NSW) 320, cited. Cooper Brookes (Wollongong) Pty Ltd v Federal Commissioner of Taxation (1981) 147 CLR 297, cited. Daddon v Air France (1984) 7 S& B Av R 141, cited. Eastern Airlines, Inc v Floyd 499 US 530 (1991), discussed. Fishman v Delta Air Lines Inc 132 F 3d 138 (2nd Cir, 1998), discussed. Fothergill v Monarch Airlines Ltd [1981] AC 251, discussed. Gatewhite v Iberia Lineas [1990] 1 QB 326 (Gatehouse J), cited. Hay or Bourhill v Young [1943] AC 92, cited. Herd v Clyde Helicopters Ltd [1997] 2 WLR 380, (HL) cited. In re Air Disaster at Lockerbie, Scotland on 21 December 1988, 928 F 2d 1267 (2nd Cir, 1991), cited. In re Korean Air Lines Disaster of September 1, 1983, 932 F 2d 1475 (DC Cir, 1991), cited. Jaensch v Coffey (1984) 155 CLR 549, cited. Kotsambasis v Singapore Airlines Ltd (1997) 42 NSWLR 110 (NSW CA), not followed. McKenna v Avior Pty Ltd [1981] WAR 255, cited. Page v Smith [1996] 1 AC 155, cited. Potter v Delta Air Lines Inc 98 F 3d 881 (5th Cir, 1996), discussed. Preston v Hunting Air Transport Ltd [1956] 1 QB 454, cited. Scala v Mammalitti (1965) 114 CLR 153, cited. Sidhu v British Airways plc [1997] AC 430, discussed. Swiss Bank Corporation v Brink's M.A.T. Ltd (1986) 1 QB 853, cited. The Workers' Compensation Board of Queensland v Technical Products Pty Ltd (1988) 165 CLR 642, discussed. Timeny v British Airways plc (1991) 56 SASR 287 (FC), cited. Tseng v El Al Israel Airlines Ltd 122 F 3d 99 (2nd Cir, 1997), discussed. Zicherman v Korean Air Lines Co Ltd 133 L Ed 2d 596 (1996), discussed.