Jones v Murrumbidgee Irrigation Limited (No 2) [2020] NSWSC 613

Supreme Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Jones v Murrumbidgee Irrigation Limited (No 2) [2020] NSWSC 613 Hearing dates: 9 – 13, 16 – 20, 23 – 27 September 2019; 17 – 18 December 2019 Date of orders: 22 May 2020 Decision date: 22 May 2020 Jurisdiction: Common Law Before: Wright J Decision: (1) Judgment for the defendant.

(2) The plaintiffs are to pay the defendant's costs as agreed or assessed. Catchwords: AGRICULTURE – Rice growing – Landforming by cutting and filling – Water management – Irrigation bay layout – Urea and nitrogen – Bloodworms dead or alive – Turbidity – Remediation and flocculation

CONTRACTS – Implied terms – Breach of contract – Whether quality of water supplied by irrigator to farmer was contaminated or unfit to be used for irrigation in breach of contract – Deoxygenated water – Ca:Mg ratio of water – Metal toxicity and monosulfidic black ooze – No breach of contract in the circumstances

NEGLIGENCE – Duty of care – Whether duty of care limited by contractual limitation of liability clauses – No breach of duty in the circumstances

TRESPASS – General principles – Wrongful depositing of harmful solids on land as a result of turbid water – Whether consent to entry of turbid water onto land – Where landholder ordered delivery of water and opened outlets to permit entry of turbid water – Trespass not established in the circumstances Legislation Cited: Civil Liability Act 2002 (NSW) Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth), Sch 2 – Australian Consumer Law Irrigation Corporations Act 1994 (NSW) Limitation Act 1969 (NSW) Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1999 (NSW) Sale of Goods Act 1923 (NSW) Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth) Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005 (NSW) Water Management Act 2000 (NSW) Cases Cited: Alstom Ltd v Yokogawa Australia Pty Ltd (No 7) [2012] SASC 49 Astley v AusTrust Ltd (1999) 197 CLR 1; [1999] HCA 6 Australian Competition and Consumer Commission v CG Berbatis Holdings Pty Ltd (2003) 214 CLR 51; [2003] HCA 18 Barker v The Queen (1983) 153 CLR 338; [1983] HCA 18 Blacktown City Council v Hocking [2008] NSWCA 144 Boucher v Murray Irrigation Limited [2017] NSWSC 1268 Commercial Bank of Australia Ltd v Amadio (1983) 151 CLR 447; [1983] HCA 14 DC v State of New South Wales [2016] NSWCA 198 Electricity Generation Corporation v Woodside Energy Ltd (2014) 251 CLR 640; [2014] HCA 7 Goode v Angland (2017) 96 NSWLR 503; [2017] NSWCA 311 Gregory v Piper (1829) 9 B&C 591; 109 ER 220 Hawkesbury Sports Council v Martin [2019] NSWCA 76 Henderson v Merrett Syndicates Ltd [1995] 2 AC 145 Ipstar Australia Pty Ltd v APS Satellite Pty Ltd [2018] NSWCA 15 Jones v Murrumbidgee Irrigation Limited [2019] NSWSC 1228 Kynoch Ltd v Rowlands [1912] 1 Ch 527 Lawrence v Ciantar [2020] NSWCA 89 Park v Murray Irrigation Limited [2018] NSWCA 166 Perre v Apand Pty Ltd (1999) 198 CLR 180; [1999] HCA 36 Peter Sleiman Investments Pty Ltd as trustee for the Sleiman Family Trust v Deputy Commissioner of Taxation [2017] NSWCA 81; 105 ATR 431 Taitoko v R [2020] NSWCCA 43 Taupau v HVAC Constructions (Queensland) Pty Ltd [2012] NSWCA 293 Wallace v Kam (2013) 250 CLR 375; [2013] HCA 19 Category: Principal judgment Parties: Sally Patricia Jones (First Plaintiff) Yambiana Pty Ltd trading as Yambiana Australia (Second Plaintiff) Murrumbidgee Irrigation Limited (Defendant) Representation: Counsel: M Scott with M Connor (Plaintiffs) J Steele with J Thompson (Defendant)