Hargood v OHTL Public Company Ltd [2015] NSWSC 446

Supreme Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Hargood v OHTL Public Company Ltd [2015] NSWSC 446 Hearing dates: 8 December 2014 Date of orders: 24 April 2015 Decision date: 24 April 2015 Jurisdiction: Common Law Before: Davies J Decision: (1) The Defendants' Notice of Motion filed 15 September 2014 is dismissed. (2) The Defendant is to pay the Plaintiff's costs of the Motion. (3) Give leave to the Plaintiff to discontinue the proceedings against the Second and Third Defendants; (4) The Plaintiff is to file an Amended Statement of Claim within 14 days omitting reference to the cause of action contained in paragraphs 27 to 30 of the Statement of Claim; (5) The Plaintiff is to pay the Defendant's costs thrown away by reason of the filing of the Amended Statement of Claim. Catchwords: CONTRACT – Plaintiff injured in Thailand – hotel alleged to be negligent – whether contract with hotel made at time of reservation or check-in - foreign jurisdiction clause contained in Guest Registration form signed on check-in – whether clause incorporated into the contract PRIVATE INTERNATIONAL LAW – stay of proceedings – foreign jurisdiction clause – whether New South Wales was an inappropriate forum – considerations – whether Defendant discharged onus Legislation Cited: Supreme Court Rules 1970 (NSW) Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005 (NSW) Cases Cited: Murakami v Wiryadi [2010] NSWCA 7; (2001) 268 ALR 377 Oceanic Sun Line Special Shipping Company Inc v Fay (1988) 165 CLR 197 Puttick v Tenon Limited (formerly called Fletcher Challenge Forests Limited) [2008] HCA 54; (2008) 238 CLR 265 Regie National des Usines Renault SA v Zhang [2002] HCA 10; (2002) 210 CLR 491 Voth v Manildra Flour Mills Pty Ltd (1990) 171 CLR 538 Category: Procedural and other rulings Parties: Jane Louise Hargood (Plaintiff) OHTL Public Company Ltd (First Defendant) Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group Limited (Second Defendant) Mandarin Oriental International Limited (Third Defendant) Representation: Counsel: R J Cheney SC & H Chiu (Plaintiff) G J Nell SC & C O Gleeson (Defendants)