Carangelo v State of New South Wales

The Court of Appeal of New South Wales considered an appeal by the plaintiff, Carangelo, against the State of New South Wales. The dispute concerned a claim for damages for psychiatric injury allegedly suffered by the plaintiff as a result of the actions of a police officer. The primary judge had dismissed the plaintiff's claim.

The central legal issues before the Court of Appeal were whether the primary judge erred in their application of section 5D of the *Civil Liability Act 2002* (NSW) in determining the duty of care and breach of duty, and specifically, whether the primary judge was correct in finding that the "but for" test of factual causation was not applicable and that the circumstances did not constitute an "exceptional case" for the purposes of section 5D(2).

The Court of Appeal affirmed the primary judge's findings. It was held that the circumstances of the case did not present an "exceptional case" as contemplated by section 5D(2) of the *Civil Liability Act 2002* (NSW), meaning that factual causation could not be established by reference to that provision. Consequently, the plaintiff failed to establish the necessary elements of negligence.

The appeal was dismissed, and the plaintiff was ordered to pay the costs of the appeal.