The District Court held that the occupier of a shopping centre common area breached its duty of care by failing to take additional precautions against the risk of a lawful entrant tripping on a services cover positioned around a blind corner from a pop-up store, where the existing A-frame warning signs were hidden from persons approaching from the south. The Court found that reasonable precautions included repositioning the pop-up store over the floor power outlet, running power from the ceiling, or placing additional warning signs visible to persons approaching from all directions. Contributory negligence was assessed at 25% on the basis that the plaintiff failed to look where she was walking after rounding the corner, by which time her momentary distraction had ceased and the hazard was conspicuous. The risk was held not to be an 'obvious risk' under s 5F of the Civil Liability Act 2002 for persons approaching from the south.
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