Yoo v Poulos [2012] NSWDC 21

District Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Yoo v Poulos [2012] NSWDC 21 Hearing dates: 13/03/2012 and 14/03/2012 Decision date: 15 March 2012 Jurisdiction: Civil Before: Elkaim SC DCJ Decision: Judgment for the defendant Catchwords: Personal injury, pedestrian accident. Legislation Cited: Motor Accident Compensation Act 1999 Cases Cited: Container Terminals Australia Ltd v Huseyin [2008] NSWCA 320 Knight v Maclean [2002] NSWCA 314 Mason v Demasi [2009] NSWCA 227 Category: Principal judgment Parties: Wie Kyung Yoo (Plaintiff) Ellis John Poulos (Defendant) Representation: J Reimer (Plaintiff) J Ryan (Defendant) Brydens Law Office (Plaintiff) QBE CTP Legal Unit (Defendant) File Number(s): 2011/00198143 Publication restriction: No

Judgment 1The plaintiff was injured in a motor vehicle accident on 30 March 2009. She was a pedestrian attempting to cross Barker Street in Kensington. She had parked on this street and was visiting her daughter who was then a student at the University of NSW, which is on the other side of Barker Street. 2The plaintiff seeks damages arising from the injuries she says were caused by the negligence of the defendant. The defendant denies negligence and, in the alternative, alleges there was contributory negligence. 3The action is governed by the Motor Accident Compensation Act 1999 (the "MACA"). The plaintiff does not qualify for non-economic loss under Section 131 of this Act. The heads of damages for which she seeks compensation are past and future economic loss, past and future medical expenses and past and future domestic care. 4The plaintiff's background is set out in the chronology (Exhibit A). As at the date of the accident she was a participant in a family business involving the manufacture, wholesaling and sale of shoes. The plaintiff was a director of the company that ran the business. 5In 2009 there were outlets at Bankstown, Campsie and in The Haymarket. There was a factory and warehouse in Granville. The plaintiff, in 2009, seems to have been mainly concerned with the store in Bankstown and with the company's paperwork. The Bankstown store closed in 2011.