Adeels Palace Pty Ltd v Moubarak

Adeels Palace Pty Ltd appealed to the New South Wales Court of Appeal against a judgment of the Supreme Court of New South Wales that found it liable in negligence to Mr. Moubarak and Ms. Bou-Haidar. The dispute arose from injuries sustained by the respondents when a brawl erupted at the appellant's restaurant and nightclub, involving patrons who had consumed alcohol. The respondents alleged that the appellant failed to take reasonable care to prevent the violence and the resulting injuries.

The Court of Appeal was required to determine whether the proprietor of a restaurant and nightclub owes a duty of care to its patrons to take reasonable steps to guard against injury from the unruly or violent behaviour of other patrons, including criminal behaviour. Further, the court had to consider whether, on the facts of this case, such a duty of care was owed, whether it was breached, and whether the breach caused the injuries sustained by the respondents.

The Court of Appeal affirmed that a proprietor owes a duty of care to its patrons to take reasonable steps to prevent injury from the foreseeable conduct of other patrons. The court reasoned that the duty extends to guarding against the risk of injury from intoxicated, unruly, or violent behaviour, provided that such behaviour and the risk of injury it poses are reasonably foreseeable and the proprietor has a sufficient degree of control over the situation. Applying these principles to the facts, the court found that the appellant was aware of the potential for violence at its premises and had the capacity to take steps to mitigate that risk. The court concluded that the appellant breached its duty of care by failing to implement adequate security measures, and that this breach caused the injuries suffered by the respondents.

Consequently, the appeals were dismissed, and the appellant was ordered to pay the costs of the appeals.