Faucett v St George Bank Ltd

Faucett v St George Bank Ltd concerned a claim brought by an employee against their employer, St George Bank Ltd, for damages arising from injuries sustained during a robbery. The employee alleged that the bank had breached its duty of care by failing to implement adequate security measures for the delivery of cash within the bank premises, leading to the employee's injury. The matter was heard in the Court of Appeal of New South Wales.

The central legal issues before the Court of Appeal were whether the bank owed a duty of care to its employee regarding the system of cash delivery and the level of security required to discharge that duty. The court also considered the admissibility and weight of expert opinion evidence, particularly whether such evidence could address the ultimate issue before the court.

The Court of Appeal found that the bank did owe a duty of care to its employee to provide a reasonably safe system for the delivery of cash. The court determined that the existing security measures were insufficient to meet this standard, particularly in light of the known risks associated with handling cash. The court accepted that the expert evidence presented was relevant and admissible, assisting the court in understanding the appropriate security measures that should have been in place.

The appeal was allowed, and the verdict and judgment in favour of the defendant bank were set aside. In their place, a verdict and judgment were entered for the plaintiff employee in the sum of $104,305, with effect from 5 October 2001. The respondent bank was ordered to pay the costs of both the appeal and the proceedings at first instance.