South Sydney Council v Morris [2000] NSWCA 158

Reported Decision : (2000) Aust Torts Reports 81-576

New South Wales Court of Appeal

CITATION : South Sydney Council v Morris [2000] NSWCA 158 FILE NUMBER(S) : CA 40263/99 HEARING DATE(S) : 30 May 2000 JUDGMENT DATE : 28 June 2000

PARTIES : South Sydney Council (Appellant) Teresa Morris (Respondent) JUDGMENT OF : Meagher JA at 1; Fitzgerald JA at 2; Heydon JA at 9

LOWER COURT JURISDICTION : District Court LOWER COURT DC 5713/96 FILE NUMBER(S) : LOWER COURT Moore DCJ JUDICIAL OFFICER :

COUNSEL : S Rares SC/V M Heath (Appellant) C Evatt/J Henness (Respondent) SOLICITORS : Phillips Fox Lawyers (Appellant) Newman & Associates (Respondent) CATCHWORDS : NEGLIGENCE - 'trip and fall' - appeal against finding by trial judge that the defendant constructed and laid footpath pavers which the plaintiff contended were defective and caused her injuries when she tripped against a grate held by the pavers - whether defendant constructed the pavers and had control over the land where the plaintiff fell - whether the condition of the pavers at the time the plaintiff's cause of action arose was caused by an intervening event rather than the negligence of the defendant - defendant omitted to call any evidence to prove who laid the pavers or whether there had been any third party interference with the pavers. - Held on appeal that it was open to the trial judge to find on the evidence that it was the defendant who laid the pavers. D LEGISLATION CITED : Arbitration (Civil Actions) Act 1983 Agbaba v Witter (1977) 51 ALJR 503 CASES CITED: Courtenay v Proprietors Strata Plan 12125 (unreported, 30 October 1998) MacDougall v Curlevski (1996) 40 NSWLR 430 State Rail Authority of New South Wales v Earthline Constructions Pty Ltd (In Liq) (1999) 73 ALJR 306 DECISION : Appeal dismissed with costs