St Mark's Orthodox Coptic College v Abraham [2007] NSWCA 185

New South Wales Court of Appeal

CITATION: St Mark's Orthodox Coptic College v Abraham [2007] NSWCA 185

HEARING DATE(S): 26/07/07

JUDGMENT DATE: 10 August 2007

JUDGMENT OF: Ipp JA at 1; Basten JA at 55; Young CJ in Eq at 56

DECISION: Appeal dismissed with costs.

CATCHWORDS: TORTS – negligence – duty of care – respondent's son injured in an accident on school premises prior to formal supervision – respondent a teacher at the school – whether the respondent owed his son a duty to take reasonable care not to expose him to a risk of harm when he dropped off his son at school earlier than was ordinarily the case on the date of the incident – breach of duty – respondent knew, or should have known, that the system of ad hoc supervision during the time he dropped off his son at school was inadequate – whether the risk of harm required to be taken into account by the school differed from that which the respondent had to consider – whether, if the respondent did owe his son a duty of care, his decision to leave him at school at a time when there was only ad hoc, informal supervision was, in all the circumstances of the case, and taking into account the practical realities of everyday living, reasonable. D

Abraham bht Abraham v St Mark's Orthodox Coptic College and Ors [2006] NSWSC 1107 Brodie v Singleton Shire Council (2001) 206 CLR 512 Geyer v Downs (1977) 138 CLR 91 Hahn v Conley (1971) 126 CLR 276 Harriton v Stephens (2006) 226 CLR 52 McCallion v Dodd [1966] NZLR 710 CASES CITED: Neindorf v Junkovic (2005) 80 ALJR 341 New South Wales v Fahy (2007) 81 ALJR 1021 Robertson v Swincer (1989) 52 SASR 356 The Commonwealth v Introvigne (1981) 150 CLR 258 Vairy v Wyong Shire Council (2005) 223 CLR 422 Woods v Multi-Sport Holdings Pty Limited (2002) 208 CLR 460 Wyong Shire Council v Shirt (1980) 146 CLR 40