Bird v Ford [2014] NSWCA 242

Court of Appeal Supreme Court New South Wales Medium Neutral Citation: Bird v Ford [2014] NSWCA 242 Hearing dates: 10 June 2014 Decision date: 28 July 2014 Before: Bathurst CJ at [1]; Barrett JA at [2]; Emmett JA at [28] Decision: Appeal dismissed with costs. [Note: The Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005 provide (Rule 36.11) that unless the Court otherwise orders, a judgment or order is taken to be entered when it is recorded in the Court's computerised court record system. Setting aside and variation of judgments or orders is dealt with by Rules 36.15, 36.16, 36.17 and 36.18. Parties should in particular note the time limit of fourteen days in Rule 36.16.] Catchwords: TORTS - negligence - professional negligence - solicitors - solicitor acted for a pupil and his parents as plaintiffs in proceedings brought against a school from which the pupil was expelled - denial of natural justice alleged - the proceedings failed because the school's decision was held not amenable to judicial review and no basis for implication of a contractual term requiring natural justice had been shown - a negligence action brought by the parents against the solicitor was dismissed - the parents contended on appeal that the solicitor was in breach of duty because he did not advise the parents that they had no prospects of success in the earlier proceedings - the state of the law in Australia was accepted as being uncertain - but approaches in other common law jurisdictions indicated the availability of cogent arguments on the basis of implied contractual term and perhaps judicial review - the proposition central to the appeal was therefore not made good. Legislation Cited: Education Act 1990 (NSW) Fair Trading Act 1987 (NSW) Supreme Court Act 1970 (NSW) Cases Cited: Bird v Campbelltown Anglican Schools Council [2007] NSWSC 1419 Burke v Yeshiva Beit Yitzchak of Hamilton and DC (1996) 90 OAC 81 CD v Ridley College (1996) 140 DLR (4th) 696 Dage v Baptist Union of Victoria [1985] VR 270 Degiorgio v Dunn (No 2) [2005] NSWSC 3; 62 NSWLR 284 Donnellan v Woodland [2012] NSWCA 433 Electoral Commission v Cameron [1997] 2 NZLR 421 Fitzgerald v Northcote (1865) 4 F & F 656; 176 ER 734 Forbes v New South Wales Trotting Club Ltd [1979] HCA 27; 143 CLR 242 GC v Taylors Institute of Advanced Studies Ltd [2003] VSC 354 Gianfrancesco v The Junior Academy Inc (2003) 169 OAC 169 Gray v Marlborough College [2006] EWCA Civ 1262 Hutt v The Governors of Haileybury College (1888) 4 TLR 623 Neat Domestic Trading Pty Ltd v AWB Ltd [2003] HCA 35; 216 CLR 277 R v Panel on Take-overs and Mergers, ex parte Datafin plc [1987] QB 815 Royal Australasian College of Surgeons v Phipps [1999] 3 NZLR 1 White Industries (Qld) Pty Ltd v Flower & Hart (1998) 156 ALR 169 Wilson v White [2005] 1 NZLR 189 Wood v Prestwich (1911) 27 TLR 268 Category: Principal judgment Parties: Vrede Jane Bird (Appellant) David Clifton Ford (First Respondent) Garry Cedric Pritchard (Second Respondent) Representation: Counsel: Mr D E Baran (Appellant) Mr G P Craddock SC (Respondents) Solicitors: John Stonham & Co (Appellant) Mullane & Lindsay (Respondents) File Number(s): CA2013/125008 Decision under appeal Jurisdiction: 9111 Citation: [2013] NSWSC 264 Date of Decision: 2013-03-28 00:00:00 Before: Schmidt J File Number(s): 2010/232539