Cavric v Willoughby City Council [2014] NSWDC 46

District Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Cavric v Willoughby City Council [2014] NSWDC 46 Hearing dates: 28/04/2014 - 01/05/2014 Decision date: 07 May 2014 Jurisdiction: Civil Before: Elkaim SC DCJ Decision: Judgment for the defendant Catchwords: Pedestrian accident in car park. Definition of public road. Legislation Cited: Civil Liability Act 2002 Roads Act 1993 Local Government Act 1993 Cases Cited: Blacktown City Council v Hocking [2008] NSWCA 144 Botany Bay City Council v Latham [2013] NSWCA 363 North Sydney Council v Roman [2007] NSWCA 27 Stojan (No 9) Pty Ltd v Kenway [2009] NSWCA 364 Category: Principal judgment Parties: Despina Cavric (Plaintiff) Willoughby City Council (Defendant) Representation: K Andrews (Plaintiff) R Gambi (Defendant) NSW Compensation Lawyers (Plaintiff) Mills Oakley Lawyers (Defendant) File Number(s): 2012/00383072 Publication restriction: No

Judgment 1The plaintiff was born in 1974. In 2011 she was injured while pushing a shopping trolley within a car park owned by the defendant. She says her injuries were caused by the defendant's negligence. She has sued for damages. 2The defendant, a local council, has denied liability and raised a number of defences provided by the Civil Liability Act 2002 (the "CLA"). The defendant also disputes the nature and extent of the plaintiff's injuries. 3Both liability and the assessment of damages are governed by the CLA.