The Queensland Court of Appeal held that crew members of a fishing vessel damaged by the negligent navigation of another vessel could not recover pure economic loss (lost income) from the tortfeasor, notwithstanding that such loss was reasonably foreseeable. Applying the tests from Caltex Oil v The Dredge 'Willemstad', the Court found the crew were known to the tortfeasor only as members of an unascertained class, not as identified individuals, and had no proprietary or possessory interest in the damaged vessel nor any contractual relationship with its owners at the time of the collision. The Court expressed scepticism about the proximity test as a workable criterion in pure economic loss cases, observing that no alternative test of reasonable precision had attained general acceptance.
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