Nadj v Moukhallaletti [2013] NSWDC 119

District Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Nadj v Moukhallaletti [2013] NSWDC 119 Hearing dates: 30 July 2013 Decision date: 30 July 2013 Jurisdiction: Civil Before: Levy SC DCJ Decision: (1)Judgment for the plaintiff in the sum of $121,738.63; (2)The defendant is to pay the plaintiff's costs on the ordinary basis unless otherwise ordered; (3)Liberty to apply on 7 days notice if further orders are required. Catchwords: TORTS - negligence - damage to residential property due to fire resulting from lit candles coming into contact with combustible materials; DAMAGES - assessment of damage Category: Principal judgment Parties: Vinko Nadj (Plaintiff) Richard Mimtez Moukhallaletti (Defendant) Representation: Mr B Camilleri (Plaintiff) (The defendant did not appear) Ligeti Partners (Plaintiff) (The defendant did not appear) File Number(s): 2012/391463 Publication restriction: None

Judgment

Facts 1The plaintiff, Mr Vinko Nadj, was the owner of property known and situated at 25-28 Crescent Street, Koorawatha, NSW. On 27 November 2010, the defendant, Mr Richard Moukhallaletti was in the plaintiff's premises when he fell asleep leaving burning candles located near combustible materials in the premises. Those materials caught fire. This caused significant damage to the premises necessitating the plaintiff to incur expenses for assessment, repairs and demolition. The fire also caused the plaintiff to suffer loss of the contents of the premises. 2The plaintiff claims that his losses were due to the negligence of the defendant. On 16 July 2013, the plaintiff obtained default judgment against the defendant. On that date the court notified the defendant that an assessment hearing of the plaintiff's claim for damages would proceed today, 30 July 2013. 3The defendant did not appear at today's hearing. The plaintiff therefore proceeded to prove his damages. He did so by relying upon an affidavit a building surveyor, Mr Alan Lindsay, sworn on 5 July 2013, and the affidavit of a loss adjuster, Mr David Harper, sworn on 21 June 2013. The plaintiff also gave oral evidence in support of his claim for damages.