Anthanasopoulos v Moseley

The Supreme Court of New South Wales, Court of Appeal, heard an appeal concerning the assessment of damages in a property damage claim. The appellant, Anthanasopoulos, sought to recover damages from the respondent, Moseley, for property damage. The central issue revolved around the extent to which the appellant could recover the cost of repairs when those repairs were gratuitously provided by a third party.

The primary legal question before the Court was whether the principle established in *Griffiths v Kerkemeyer* (1977) 139 CLR 161, which allows for the recovery of the cost of gratuitously provided services in personal injury cases, applied to claims for property damage. Specifically, the Court had to determine if the appellant was entitled to recover the cost of repairs to their damaged property, which had been undertaken by a third party without charge to the appellant.

The Court of Appeal held that the principle in *Griffiths v Kerkemeyer* does not extend to claims for property damage. Their Honours reasoned that the purpose of damages in property damage cases is to compensate the plaintiff for their actual loss. Where repairs are gratuitously provided, the plaintiff has not suffered a financial loss in respect of those repairs. Therefore, the appellant could not recover the cost of the gratuitously provided repairs. The Court also considered the doctrine of subrogation, noting that it did not operate to allow recovery in this instance.

Consequently, the appeal was dismissed, and the appellant was ordered to pay the respondent's costs.