Grills v Leighton Contractors Pty Limited

[2015] NSWCA 72

NSW Court of Appeal

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Interrogate

Catchwords

1. Torts
2. › Negligence
3. › Duty of care
4. › Motorway operator
5. › Novel circumstances
6. › Salient features approach
7. › Whether motorway operator owed duty of care to police officer where motorway closed to civilian traffic and operator acting under police directions
8. › Scope of duty circumscribed by operator's limited role
9. › Civil Liability Act 2002 (NSW), ss 5B, 5C
1. Torts
2. › Negligence
3. › Employer's duty of care
4. › Non-delegable duty
5. › Breach of duty
6. › Whether employer breached duty by failing to give clear directions to third party operator
7. › Where employer did not control technical aspects of motorway
8. › Adequacy of verbal instructions in high-security operation
1. Torts
2. › Negligence
3. › Breach of duty
4. › Civil Liability Act 2002 (NSW), ss 5B, 5C
5. › Distinction between duty and breach
6. › Whether s 5B directed to breach rather than existence of duty
1. Torts
2. › Negligence
3. › Contributory negligence
4. › Standard of care
5. › Police officer on urgent duty
6. › Whether failure to keep proper lookout constituted contributory negligence
7. › Whether speed was excessive in circumstances of urgent duty on closed motorway
8. › Civil Liability Act 2002 (NSW), ss 5B, 5C, 5R

Quick Take

Sections 5B and 5C of the Civil Liability Act 2002 (NSW) are directed to breach, not the existence of a duty of care; it is an error to determine duty by serial reference to those provisions. Where a motorway operator acts under police directions during a security operation, its duty of care to persons using the motorway is circumscribed to taking reasonable care in implementing the directions given. The standard of contributory negligence under s 5R must account for the specific circumstances of the plaintiff's task, including urgency and competing demands on attention; a police officer on urgent duty sweeping a closed motorway is not contributorily negligent for failing to anticipate a completely unexpected hazard.