Mallonland Pty Ltd v Advanta Seeds Pty Ltd [2024] HCA 25

HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA

GAGELER CJ,

GORDON, EDELMAN, STEWARD, GLEESON, JAGOT AND BEECH‑JONES JJ

MALLONLAND PTY LTD & ANOR APPELLANTS

AND

ADVANTA SEEDS PTY LTD RESPONDENT

Mallonland Pty Ltd v Advanta Seeds Pty Ltd

[2024] HCA 25

Date of Hearing: 6 March 2024

Date of Judgment: 7 August 2024

B60/2023

ORDER

Appeal dismissed with costs.

On appeal from the Supreme Court of Queensland

Representation

W A D Edwards KC with B A Hall and T A Rawlinson for the appellants (instructed by Creevey Horrell Lawyers)

P J Dunning KC with E J Goodwin KC and M Y Barnes for the respondent (instructed by Herbert Smith Freehills)

Notice: This copy of the Court's Reasons for Judgment is subject to formal revision prior to publication in the Commonwealth Law Reports.

CATCHWORDS

Mallonland Pty Ltd v Advanta Seeds Pty Ltd

Negligence – Duty of care – Where the appellants ("the growers") purchased contaminated grain sorghum seed from a distributor authorised by the respondent ("the producer") – Where the growers consequently suffered pure economic loss in the form of reduced income and increased expenditure – Whether the producer owed the growers a duty to take reasonable care in its production process of the seed to avoid the risk that the growers would sustain pure economic loss by reason of a hidden defect in the seed – Whether the producer had assumed a responsibility towards the growers to take reasonable care to avoid causing them pure economic loss – Whether the salient features of the relationship between the producer and the growers established a duty of care to avoid causing pure economic loss.

Words and phrases – "assumption of responsibility", "control", "disclaimer of responsibility", "duty of care", "indeterminacy", "intention", "knowledge", "proximity", "pure economic loss", "reasonable foreseeability", "salient features", "vulnerability".