Cooke v Woolworths Ltd

In *Cooke v Woolworths Ltd*, the New South Wales Court of Appeal considered an appeal by the plaintiff, Ms. Cooke, against a decision of the District Court. The dispute arose from injuries sustained by Ms. Cooke when she slipped on a patch of oil or grease on the floor of a Woolworths supermarket. Ms. Cooke alleged that Woolworths had breached its duty of care to her as an invitee by failing to maintain a safe environment.

The primary legal issue before the Court of Appeal was whether the District Court judge had erred in finding that Woolworths had not breached its duty of care to Ms. Cooke. Specifically, the court had to determine if Woolworths had taken all reasonable precautions to prevent the foreseeable risk of injury to its customers from slipping on substances on the floor. This involved an assessment of the adequacy of Woolworths' cleaning and inspection procedures.

The Court of Appeal found that the District Court judge had made no error in his findings of fact or in his application of the law. The judge had correctly considered the evidence presented regarding the frequency of cleaning, the nature of the supermarket's operations, and the likelihood of such a substance being present. The court affirmed the principle that a shopkeeper is not an insurer of the safety of its customers, but rather must take reasonable steps to guard against foreseeable risks. In this instance, the evidence did not establish that Woolworths had failed to take such reasonable steps.

Consequently, the appeal was dismissed.