Geurie Enterprises Pty Ltd v Pirrottina [2019] NSWSC 1828

Supreme Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Geurie Enterprises Pty Ltd v Pirrottina [2019] NSWSC 1828 Hearing dates: 9 – 10 December 2019 Date of orders: 19 December 2019 Decision date: 19 December 2019 Jurisdiction: Equity Before: Darke J Decision: Injunctive relief granted and damages awarded against defendant in nuisance. Injunctive relief granted against defendant in respect of trespass. Catchwords: LAND LAW – easements – where defendant has benefit of rights of carriageway over plaintiffs' land – rural land – gate maintained at entrance to easement from public road – gate kept in a closed but not locked position – where plaintiffs run cattle on their land – where plaintiffs harvest timber on their land – where defendant locked gate for a period – where timber harvesting interrupted – where defendant commonly leaves gate open after traversing gateway – where cattle escape onto public road through open gateway – defendant's conduct held to amount to nuisance – injunctive relief granted – damages awarded in respect of pecuniary loss and time spent retrieving escaped cattle

TORTS – nuisance – private nuisance – where defendant has benefit of rights of carriageway over plaintiffs' land – rural land – gate maintained at entrance to easement from public road – gate kept in a closed but not locked position – where plaintiffs run cattle on their land – where plaintiffs harvest timber on their land – where defendant locked gate for a period – where timber harvesting interrupted – where defendant commonly leaves gate open after traversing gateway – where cattle escape onto public road through open gateway – defendant's conduct held to amount to nuisance – injunctive relief granted – damages awarded in respect of pecuniary loss and time spent retrieving escaped cattle