Axiak v Pezzano

The Supreme Court of New South Wales, Court of Appeal, considered an appeal in *Axiak v Pezzano*. The dispute concerned the assessment of damages, specifically relating to loss of income and dependency, following a death. The appellant, the plaintiff in the original proceedings, sought to challenge the trial judge's calculations and approach to quantifying these losses.

The primary legal issues before the Court of Appeal were whether the trial judge had adopted the correct approach in assessing the deceased's past loss of income, whether the calculations for future loss were appropriate, and whether a low dependency rate was correctly applied. Furthermore, the court was required to determine if the loss of investment income had been properly quantified and adequately supported by evidence presented at trial.

The Court of Appeal reviewed the evidence and the trial judge's findings in relation to the deceased's earning capacity and the dependency of the beneficiaries. The court applied established principles of assessing damages for loss of income and dependency, considering factors such as the deceased's age, earning potential, and the reasonable needs of the dependants. The court emphasised the need for clear and sufficient evidence to support claims for loss of investment income, ensuring that such claims were not speculative. The court ultimately found that the trial judge's assessment of past loss was appropriate, but that the calculation of future loss and the application of the dependency rate required adjustment. The court also found that the loss of investment income had not been sufficiently proven.

The Court of Appeal ordered that the appeal be allowed in part, with the judgment of the trial judge being varied to reflect a revised assessment of damages. The specific details of the revised orders are set out in paragraph 89 of the judgment.