Bailey v Peakhurst Bowling & Recreation Club Ltd [2009] NSWDC 284

New South Wales District Court

CITATION: Bailey v Peakhurst Bowling & Recreation Club Ltd [2009] NSWDC 284

HEARING DATE(S): 24, 25 and 26 August 2009

JUDGMENT DATE: 3 November 2009

JURISDICTION: Civil

JUDGMENT OF: Levy SC DCJ

DECISION: 1. Verdict and judgment for the plaintiff in the sum of $507,550; 2. Defendant to pay the plaintiff's costs.

CATCHWORDS: TORTS – employer's liability – claim of workplace bullying, intimidation and harassment of bar employee by club manager - DAMAGES – severe psychological injuries – post-traumatic stress disorder – inability to work – whether defendant has demonstrated that plaintiff has unreasonably failed to mitigate her damage – assessment of economic damages.

Workers Compensation Act 1987 LEGISLATION CITED: Workplace Injury Management and Workers Compensation Act 1998 Club Employees (State) Award NSW

Fazlic v Milingimbi Community Inc [1982] HCA 3; (1982) 150 CLR 345 CASES CITED: Husher v Husher [1999] HCA 47; (1999) 197 CLR 138 Jones v Dunkel [1959] HCA 8; (1959) 101 CLR 298 Kallouf v Middis [2008] NSWCA 61

PARTIES: Carol Anne Bailey (Plaintiff) Peakhurst Bowling & Recreation Club Ltd (Defendant)

FILE NUMBER(S): 1362 of 2009

COUNSEL: Mr M Perry (Plaintiff) Mr H Halligan (Defendant)

SOLICITORS: De Luca-Leonard (Plaintiff) Edwards Michael Lawyers (Defendants)

JUDGMENT

Nature of case

1. The plaintiff seeks damages from her former employer for workplace negligence. She claims to have suffered severe psychological injury following a course of bullying and harassment by her supervisor at work. She claims the conduct concerned was carried out by Mr Tony Riley who was at the relevant time a director of the defendant club and also her employment supervisor. The plaintiff claims that her resultant psychological injury has permanently prevented her from resuming any form of remunerative employment.