GRASSO v STATE RAIL AUTHORITY [1996] NSWCA 228

GRASSO v STATE RAIL AUTHORITY

SUPREME COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES COURT OF APPEAL

PRIESTLEY, POWELL and COLE JJA 26 April 1996, 26 April 1996

[1996] NSWCA 228

DISCLOSURE of trial judge's reasons — adequate — finding of absence of negligence upheld.

Cole JA The appellant contends that McCredie DCJ erred in his judgment delivered on 18 December 1992 in three respects. First, his Honour erred in failing to state his reasons adequately or at all and that error justifies the intervention of this Court. Second, that his Honour erred in finding the verdict for the respondent when such a finding was against the evidence established by the respondent's case and apparently accepted and adopted by his Honour. Third, that his Honour's findings of fact were contrary to the weight of the evidence to the extent to which they were based upon the Judge's assessment of credit of the appellant's witnesses. The trial Judge's findings are said to fall within the exceptions to the rule laid down in Devries v The Australian National Railways Commission!.

In my opinion the first aspect of the appeal has not been made out. The appropriate principles regarding the obligation upon a Judge to disclose his reasons are found in Soulemezis v Dudley (Holdings) Pty Ltd?. McCredie DCJ did in my opinion adequately disclose his reasons.

The appellant contended that the respondent was negligent, breaching a duty of care owed to him. The appellant, at the time of the accident a 17 year old school boy, tripped and fell on an escalator owned and operated by the respondent. McCredie DCJ noted that the plaintiff's case was pressed on two bases, first, that the escalator was inherently dangerous in that the gap between the tread and the comb plate was sufficiently wide for the plaintiff's finger to be trapped between the comb plate and the tread; second, steps should have been taken to minimise the gap by welding teeth to the bottom of the comb plate to reduce the gap, by providing an emergency stop switch or by carrying out better maintenance to prevent the allegedly dangerous gap.