Vic v Richards & Anor

[1998] VSCA 103

Victorian Court of Appeal

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For Australian Law.

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Interrogate

Catchwords

1. Tort Law
2. › Negligence
3. › Duty of care
4. › Public authority
5. › Statutory powers conferred for specific purpose
6. › Whether meat inspectors owed duty of care to slaughtermen
7. › Whether powers conferred for protection of consumers extended to protection of workers
8. › Abattoir and Meat Inspection Act 1973 (Vic)
1. Tort Law
2. › Negligence
3. › Duty of care
4. › Two-stage test versus three-stage test
5. › Whether Caparo three-stage test applies in Australian law
6. › Whether policy considerations form part of proximity inquiry
1. Tort Law
2. › Negligence
3. › Contribution between defendants
4. › Claim for contribution on wider basis than plaintiff's claim
5. › Effect of course of trial on scope of contribution claim
6. › Whether jury questions encompassed wider basis of liability
7. › Wrongs Act 1958 (Vic), s 24(2)

Quick Take

Where statutory powers are conferred on public officers for a specific purpose (here, consumer protection through meat inspection), the officers do not owe a duty of care to persons outside that protective purpose (here, abattoir workers) merely because they have knowledge of risks and the ability to warn. The purpose for which statutory powers are conferred is determinative of the scope of any duty of care arising from those powers. The three-stage Caparo test was not available to intermediate appellate courts in 1998 given the state of High Court authority.