Dyno Wesfarmers Ltd v Knuckey

Dyno Wesfarmers Ltd (the appellant) appealed to the Supreme Court of New South Wales against a decision concerning a fatal accident that occurred in Papua New Guinea. The dispute involved the application of Papua New Guinean law to proceedings brought in New South Wales.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether it was necessary for the Papua New Guinean statute governing the fatal accident to be specifically pleaded in the proceedings before the Supreme Court of New South Wales. Relatedly, the court considered the effect of a failure by either party to plead the statute of the foreign *lex causae*, and whether the rule in *Weldon v Neal* or Part 20 Rule 4 of the Supreme Court Rules applied to local proceedings involving a foreign limitation provision.

The court reasoned that the failure to plead the foreign statute did not prevent its application, particularly where the substantive law of Papua New Guinea was engaged. The court affirmed that the *lex causae* governs the substantive rights and liabilities, and while procedural rules of the forum apply, the substantive law of the place where the cause of action arose should be applied. The court found that the failure to plead the foreign statute did not preclude its consideration, and that the relevant rules of court did not mandate such pleading in these circumstances.

The appeal was dismissed with costs.