Cran v State of New South Wales [2004] NSWCA 92

Reported Decision : 62 NSWLR 95 (2004) Aust Torts Reports 81-737

New South Wales Court of Appeal

CITATION : Cran v State of New South Wales [2004] NSWCA 92 HEARING DATE(S) : 21 August 2003 JUDGMENT DATE : 29 March 2004

JUDGMENT OF : Santow JA at 1; Ipp JA at 66; McColl JA at 84 DECISION : Appeal dismissed; No order as to costs.

CATCHWORDS : NEGLIGENCE - whether duty of care to prisoner who was incarcerated and in course of incarceration suffered post-traumatic stress disorder where incarceration prolonged by reason of failure of Police and DPP to invoke well established fast-track arrangements for laboratory processing for detection of drugs - extent of immunity of Police - extent of immunity of DPP in relation to court proceedings involving the prisoner - relevance of breach of prosecutorial guidelines. LEGISLATION CITED : Director of Public Prosecutions Act 1986 s13 Adams v Kennedy (2000) 49 NSWLR 78 Cekan v Haines (1990) 21 NSWLR 296 Crimmins v Stevedoring Industry Finance Committee (1999) 200 CLR 1 Darker v Chief Constable of the West Midlands Police [2000] 3 WLR 747 Elguzouli-Daf v Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis and another [1995] QB 335 Giannarelli v Wraith (1988) 165 CLR 543 Graham Barclay Oysters Pty Ltd v Ryan (2002) 71 ALJR 183 Hill v Chief Constable of West Yorkshire [1986] AC 53 Keefe v Marks (1989) 16 NSWLR 713 Kirkham v Chief Constable of the Greater Manchester Police [1992] WLR 987 L v Reading Borough Council [2001] 1 WLR 1375 CASES CITED : Lamb v Cotogno (1987) 164 CLR 1 Modbury Triangle Shopping Centre Pty Ltd v Anzil and another (2000) 176 ALR 411 Osman v Ferguson [1993] 4 All ER 344 Saif Ali v Sydney Mitchell & Company [1980] AC 198 Spring v Guardian Assurance PLC [1995] AC 296 State of New South Wales v Paige [2002] NSWCA 235 Sullivan v Moody (2001) 207 CLR 562 Swinney v Chief Constable of Northumbria Police Force [1997] QB 464 Tahche v Abboud (No. 1) [2002] VSC 36 Tame v New South Wales (2002) 76 ALJR 1348; (2002) 191 ALR 449 Welsh v Chief Constable of the Merseyside Police & Anor [1993] 1 All ER 692 Whitehorn v R (1983) 152 CLR 657 John CRAN (Appellant) PARTIES : STATE OF NEW SOUTH WALES (First Respondent) WESTERN SYDNEY AREA HEALTH SERVICE (Second Respondent) FILE NUMBER(S) : CA 41008/02 COUNSEL : P W Gray/ D Carroll (Appellant) P Menzies, QC/ C Lonergan (First Respondent) SOLICITORS : Kim Cull, Legal Aid Commission of NSW (Appellant) I V Knight, Crown Solicitor's Office (First Respondent)