Buckley v Terrigal Grosvenor Lodge (Erina) Pty Ltd (No.2)

Buckley (the plaintiff) brought proceedings against Terrigal Grosvenor Lodge (Erina) Pty Ltd (the defendant) in the District Court of New South Wales. The dispute concerned the plaintiff's claim for damages for personal injuries allegedly sustained as a result of a fall on the defendant's premises. The plaintiff alleged that the fall was caused by a slippery substance on the floor of the defendant's hotel.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether the defendant had breached its duty of care to the plaintiff, a lawful visitor, by failing to take reasonable steps to prevent the plaintiff from suffering injury. This involved determining whether the defendant had actual or constructive knowledge of the presence of the slippery substance on the floor and, if so, whether it had taken reasonable precautions to address the hazard.

Judge Nicholls found that the plaintiff had failed to establish that the defendant had actual or constructive knowledge of the slippery substance. The evidence did not demonstrate that the substance had been on the floor for a sufficient period for the defendant's employees to have discovered it through reasonable inspection. Consequently, the court concluded that the defendant had not breached its duty of care to the plaintiff.

The plaintiff's claim was dismissed.