STEPHENSON v TOMS & ANOR and STEPHENSON v MORABITO & ORS [2001] NSWCA 72

New South Wales Court of Appeal

CITATION : STEPHENSON v TOMS & ANOR and STEPHENSON v MORABITO & ORS [2001] NSWCA 72 FILE NUMBER(S) : CA 40914/99; 40916/99 HEARING DATE(S) : 21 March 2001 JUDGMENT DATE : 5 April 2001

Harold Stephenson - Appellant Jeffrey Charles Toms - First Respondent State Transit Authority of NSW - Second Respondent PARTIES : Harold Stephenson - Appellant Nicola Morabito - First Respsondent Jimmy Morabito - Second Respondent Nick Morabito - Third Respondent JUDGMENT OF : Mason P at 1; Sheller JA at 2

LOWER COURT JURISDICTION : District Court LOWER COURT 7886/99 FILE NUMBER(S) : 8490/97 LOWER COURT Gibb DCJ JUDICIAL OFFICER :

A McGuiness QC/D J Cochrane - Appellant COUNSEL : K Andrews - Respondent (Toms) R Tonner - Respondent (Morabito) Southwell - Keely - Appellant SOLICITORS : Gillis Delaney Brown - Respondent (Toms) Holman Webb - Respondent (Morabito) CATCHWORDS : NEGLIGENCE - damages, quantum of - motor vehicle accident - plaintiff involved in a number of accidents - whether trial Judge correct in finding that much of the plaintiff's suffering was due to a spinal degenerative disease rather than to the accidents - s79 Motor Accidents Act 1988 - whether trial Judge correct in finding that plaintiff failed to establish that their ability to lead a normal life was significantly impaired - held that the trial Judge's findings were entirely open on the evidence. LEGISLATION CITED : Limitation Act 1969 Motor Accidents Act 1988 CASES CITED: Devries v Australian National Railways Commission (1993) 177 CLR 472 Roberts v White (1999) 29 MVA 331 DECISION : Appeals dismissed with costs.