BLAW10001 Study Guide - Final Guide: Contributory Negligence
CH 12 – TORT LAW
TORT:
• Provides liability for wrongful conduct causing harm
• Tort law provides private right of action for compensation OR order to stop
continuing/threatened harm (injunction)
• Tort law recognises types of harm:
o Trespass to land/chattels
o Assault & battery
o Private nuisance
o Deceit
o Defamation
o Negligence → liability for a range of conduct
TORT OF NEGLIGENCE:
• Imposes liability on those who fail to take reasonable care to prevent loss/damage to others that was reasonable
foreseeable
CATEGORIES OF CONDUCT
• A positive act
• A failure to act; SEE: Hawkins v Clayton
• Making a statement/advice or failing to do so; SEE: Rogers v Whitaker
CATEGORIES OF HARM
• Physical injury to the person; SEE: Hole v Hocking
• Physical damage to property
• Purely economic loss
o To be lassified as egligee, plaitiff ust’e ee depedet/poerless &
defendant in a position of control/power
▪ SEE: Perre v Apand; Woolcock Street Investments v CDG
o Dut of are ol eists if speaker should’e realised the ere eig relied o to
give aurate iforatio that iflueed the other part’s deisios
▪ SEE: Shaddock & Associates v Parramatta City Council
ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS OF NEGLIGENCE:
DEFENDANT OWED PLAINTIFF A DUTY OF CARE
Establishing duty of care:
• Harm towards plaintiff must be reasonably foreseeable by
defendant
o SEE: Donoghue v Stevenson
• Plaintiff must be a person/member of a class of persons that MIGHT
suffer harm
o SEE: Waverly Council v Ferreira
• A recognised duty situatio/relatioship must have existed →
defendant required to prevent foreseeable harm to plaintiff
o E.g.: Manufacturers & consumers (Donoghue); Statutory
authorities & public (Waverly Council), motorists to each
other (Imbree v McNeilly)
DEFENDANT BREACHED THE DUTY OF CARE
• Party owing duty of care must act reasonably to avoid harm
• Courts consider several factors:
o How likely was the harm?
o How difficult is it to avoid harm?
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