Ansett Transport Industries (Operations) Pty Limited t/a Ansett Air Freight v Mitsui Computer Limited

Ansett Transport Industries (Operations) Pty Limited, trading as Ansett Air Freight, appealed to the New South Wales Court of Appeal against a decision of the Supreme Court of New South Wales. The dispute concerned the carriage of goods by Ansett Air Freight for Mitsui Computer Limited, and specifically, whether Ansett was liable for damage to the goods during transit.

The primary legal issue before the Court of Appeal was whether Ansett Air Freight could rely on the exclusion clauses contained within its standard conditions of carriage to limit or exclude its liability for the damage sustained by the goods. This involved an examination of the proper construction of those exclusion clauses and whether they were incorporated into the contract of carriage between the parties.

The Court of Appeal held that Ansett Air Freight was not entitled to rely on the exclusion clauses. It found that the conditions of carriage had not been properly incorporated into the contract. Specifically, the court determined that the conditions were not brought to the attention of Mitsui Computer Limited at or before the time the contract was made, nor were they otherwise incorporated by reference or by course of dealing. Consequently, Ansett Air Freight was liable for the damage to the goods.