CJD Equipment Pty Limited v A&C Constructions Pty Limited

CJD Equipment Pty Limited (the appellant) appealed to the Court of Appeal of New South Wales against findings made by the trial judge concerning damages. A&C Constructions Pty Limited (the first respondent) cross-appealed. The dispute concerned the assessment of damages arising from a contract for the hire of equipment.

The primary legal issues before the Court of Appeal were whether the trial judge erred in her assessment of damages, particularly in relation to the principle of mitigation and the recovery of costs not actually incurred by the plaintiff to avoid further loss. The court also considered whether the appeal raised any question of principle.

The Court of Appeal found that the trial judge's assessment of damages was largely correct, and that the appeal did not raise any question of principle. However, the court allowed the cross-appeal, finding that the plaintiff was entitled to recover certain costs as an accrued loss, even though those costs had not yet been incurred. The court reasoned that the plaintiff had established that these costs were reasonably incurred to mitigate further loss, and therefore represented an accrued entitlement.

Consequently, the appeal was dismissed, and the cross-appeal was allowed. The original judgment was set aside and substituted with a judgment for the plaintiff against the first defendant for $67,147. The order regarding costs was varied to reflect the outcome of the cross-appeal, and the appellant was ordered to pay the costs of the respondents for the appeal and cross-appeal.