Azad Cassim v Dylan Nguyen

Local Court

New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation:

Azad Cassim v Dylan Nguyen [2018] NSWLC 28

Hearing dates:

13 September and 8 November 2018

Date of orders:

6 December 2018

Decision date:

06 December 2018

Jurisdiction:

Civil

Before:

Farnan LCM

Decision:

Judgment and verdict for plaintiff

Catchwords:

CIVIL - Hire car agreements - whether the defendant liable to pay actual cost of that hire - general damages for the loss use  - whether defendant only required to pay  hypothetical cost of reasonable replacement vehicle 

Cases Cited:

Anthanasopolous v Mosely (2001) 52 NSWLR 262

Beamish v Kanakis [2017] WADC 33

Coles v Hetherton [2012] All ER (D) 102

Dimond v Lovell [1999] 3 All ER 1

Droga v Cannon [2015] NSWSC 1910

Gladstone Lazarus Pty Ltd v Tumur [2018] NSWLC 6

Lagden v O’Connor [2004] 1 All ER 277

Lowe v Pearce [2016] NSWLC 5

Stocovaz v On Tai Fung [2007] NSWCA 199

Wong v Maroubra Automotive [2015] NSWSC 222 Blumberg v Frucor Beverages Ltd [2018] NZHC 1876 Burdis v Livsey [2003] QB 36

Yates v Mobile Marine Repairs Pty Ltd [2007] NSWSC 1463

Category:

Principal judgment

Parties:

Azad Cassim – Plaintiff
Dylan Nguyen – Defendant

Representation:

Counsel:
Mr Gruzman, for the Plaintiff
Mr Oliver, for the Defendant
Solicitors: Martin P Board & Ass, for the Plaintiff
Muharram Candan Koyuncu, for the Defendant

File Number(s):

2018/00034672

Judgment

1. On 1 April 2017 Mr Cassim was driving his 2012 BMW 535i sedan when it was involved in a collision with a vehicle driven negligently by the defendant. The plaintiff immediately put his car in for repair and made a claim for damages to the defendant’s insurer, the NRMA.

2. For a short while the plaintiff did without the car. Between 3 April and 8 April he was provided with a RAV4 vehicle by Platinum Replacement Vehicles. That vehicle cost $1038 for six days (at an average daily cost, including damage waiver of $139 – Exhibit 2 – total cost less delivery and administration fees divided by six). After that he shared his wife’s car for a while, an arrangement he described as “extremely inconvenient” and also travelled overseas for 10 days.

3. On 30 May 2017 he entered into a credit hire contract with Right2Drive Pty Ltd for supply of a Nissan Infiniti Q50 vehicle, at a cost of $203 per day (including damage waiver, less delivery fee). He kept that vehicle until his car was returned to him on 22 August 2017, a period of 84 days, at a cost of $17,158.02 in total. That is the amount of this claim. It is not in dispute that the period was required for the repairs to his car as a result of parts having to come from overseas.

Issues

4. The issue is whether the defendant is liable to pay the plaintiff the actual cost of that hire, as general damages for the loss of use of the vehicle for the whole of the period or part of it. Alternatively, is the defendant only required to…