Franklins Limited v Brown - [2000] NSWCA 177

CITATION: FRANKLINS LIMITED v. BROWN [2000] NSWCA 177

FILE NUMBER(S): CA CA 40390/99

HEARING DATE(S): 11/07/00

JUDGMENT DATE:
11 July 2000

PARTIES :

FRANKLINS LIMITED (Appellant)
BETTY BROWN (Respondent)

JUDGMENT OF: Powell JA at 1; Heydon JA at 12; Brownie AJA at 13

LOWER COURT JURISDICTION : District Court

LOWER COURT
FILE NUMBER(S) : DC 206/97 (Newcastle)

LOWER COURT
JUDICIAL OFFICER : Delaney DCJ

COUNSEL: R.S. Sheldon (Applicant)
C.R.R. Hoeben SC/P. Biggins (Respondent)

SOLICITORS: Glover & Glover (Appellant)
Whitelaw McDonald (Kotara) (Respondent)

CATCHWORDS: NEGLIGENCE - Dangerous premises - Injury to entrant - Customer slipping on lettuce leaf on floor of supermarket - Whether breach of duty of care - ND

DECISION: Appeal dismissed

IN THE SUPREME COURT
OF NEW SOUTH WALES
COURT OF APPEAL

CA 40390/99
DC 206/97

(Newcastle)

POWELL JA
HEYDON JA
BROWNIE AJA

12 JULY 2000

FRANKLINS LIMITED v. BROWN

JUDGMENT

1    POWELL JA: This is an appeal by an unsuccessful defendant from a judgment delivered and orders made by Delaney DCJ when sitting in the District Court at Newcastle on 7 May 1999.
2    In the proceedings with which his Honour was concerned to deal the plaintiff sought to recover damages in respect of injuries which she had sustained when she fell in the "Big Fresh" supermarket which was operated by the defendant at Glendale, which I understand to be either a suburb of, or in a location close to, Newcastle.
3    A "Big Fresh" supermarket is a special type of supermarket which, in contrast to what used once to be the style of trading of the defendant, now sells a wide variety of produce, meat and other items of foodstuffs.
4    The accident in which the plaintiff sustained her injuries occurred as she was passing through the fresh fruit and vegetable produce area which was towards the front of the store. As she moved along one of the aisles the plaintiff slipped and fell and injured herself. It is clear, and is not disputed, that what caused the plaintiff's fall was her stepping on a loose lettuce leaf which was on the vinyl floor.
5    The case which the plaintiff sought to make at trial was that the defendant had failed to take reasonable care to prevent injuries to those patronising its store being caused by loose materials that were on the floor. A number of particulars of ways in which the plaintiff sought to assert that the defendant had failed to carry out its duty in that respect were put forward, but the principal one was that the defendant had failed to institute and maintain a system of cleaning the floors to prevent injuries being caused in the way the plaintiff had sustained hers.
6    The defendant's case was framed in two ways: either, that there had been no shortcoming on its part in the system of cleaning which it had set up: or that, even if there were such a shortcoming it was not the failure of the defendant in that respect, which caused…

Grounds of appeal

[14] The appellant contends that the primary judge erred in finding that the respondent had discharged the onus of establishing the matters required under the relevant provision.

[15] It was submitted that his Honour failed to give adequate weight to the evidence of the second witness, and that the findings of fact were not reasonably open on the material before the Court.

[16] The respondent, for its part, submits that no error is disclosed, and that the conclusions reached were well within the range of outcomes available to the primary judge.

Consideration

[17] It is convenient to deal first with the question of construction, as the resolution of that issue informs the remaining grounds advanced by the appellant.

[18] For the reasons that follow, we are of the view that the appeal should be allowed in part and the matter remitted for further determination.

Continue reading Franklins Limited v Brown

Details

AGLC: Franklins Limited v Brown [2000] NSWCA 177
Case: [2000] NSWCA 177
Decision Date: 11 July 2000

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Franklins Limited appealed to the New South Wales Court of Appeal against a judgment of the District Court of New South Wales. The appeal concerned a claim for damages for personal injury brought by the respondent, Ms. Brown, who had slipped on a lettuce leaf on the floor of the appellant's supermarket and sustained injuries.

The central legal issue before the Court of Appeal was whether the appellant, Franklins Limited, had breached its duty of care owed to Ms. Brown as an invitee on its premises. This required the court to consider whether the presence of the lettuce leaf on the floor constituted a danger, and if so, whether the appellant had taken reasonable steps to prevent such a hazard or to warn its customers of its existence.

The Court of Appeal, in dismissing the appeal, affirmed the findings of the District Court. The judges reasoned that a supermarket, by its nature, involves the display and handling of produce, and therefore, the possibility of items like lettuce leaves falling to the floor was foreseeable. The court found that the appellant had failed to demonstrate that it had implemented adequate systems or procedures to regularly inspect the floor for such hazards or to ensure prompt cleaning. Consequently, the appellant was held to have breached its duty of care to its customers, including Ms. Brown, by failing to maintain the premises in a reasonably safe condition. The appeal was therefore dismissed.

Orders

Orders of the court

Appeal dismissed

Background

Background to the litigation

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Evidence

Evidence Before The Court

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Decision

Reasons for decision

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Ratio Decidendi

Legal Principle Established

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CITATION:	FRANKLINS LIMITED v. BROWN [2000] NSWCA 177
FILE NUMBER(S):	CA CA 40390/99
HEARING DATE(S):	11/07/00
JUDGMENT DATE:	11 July 2000
PARTIES :	FRANKLINS LIMITED (Appellant) BETTY BROWN (Respondent)
JUDGMENT OF:	Powell JA at 1; Heydon JA at 12; Brownie AJA at 13

LOWER COURT JURISDICTION :	District Court
LOWER COURT FILE NUMBER(S) :	DC 206/97 (Newcastle)
LOWER COURT JUDICIAL OFFICER :	Delaney DCJ

COUNSEL:	R.S. Sheldon (Applicant) C.R.R. Hoeben SC/P. Biggins (Respondent)
SOLICITORS:	Glover & Glover (Appellant) Whitelaw McDonald (Kotara) (Respondent)
CATCHWORDS:	NEGLIGENCE - Dangerous premises - Injury to entrant - Customer slipping on lettuce leaf on floor of supermarket - Whether breach of duty of care - ND
DECISION:	Appeal dismissed