Harrington Estates (NSW) Pty Ltd t/as Harrington Grove Country Club v Turner

Harrington Estates (NSW) Pty Ltd, trading as Harrington Grove Country Club, appealed a decision of the primary judge who found it liable for injuries sustained by Mr Turner, a patron who stepped into a garden bed in the Club's car park. The landscape architect, Hassell, was found not liable by the primary judge. Mr Turner cross-appealed, seeking to establish Hassell's liability. The appeal and cross-appeals concerned the extent of liability of both the Club and Hassell for Mr Turner's injuries.

The Court of Appeal was required to determine whether the primary judge erred in finding Hassell not liable for Mr Turner's injuries, and consequently, whether the Club's liability should be reduced by contribution from Hassell. The court also considered the assessment of contributory negligence by Mr Turner.

The Court of Appeal found that the primary judge had erred in finding Hassell not liable. It held that Hassell, as the landscape architect responsible for the design and supervision of the garden bed, owed a duty of care to patrons of the Club. The obscured depth of the garden bed constituted a foreseeable risk of injury, and Hassell had failed to take reasonable steps to mitigate this risk. Consequently, the Court of Appeal found both the Club and Hassell liable for Mr Turner's injuries. The court upheld the primary judge's assessment of contributory negligence and ordered statutory contribution between the Club and Hassell in the proportion of 75% to 25% respectively.

The appeal and cross-appeals were allowed in part, and the previous orders were set aside. Hassell was ordered to pay Mr Turner's costs of the appeal and cross-appeals, with directions for the parties to supply agreed or contested minutes of order and submissions for determination on the papers.