Hayes v Navre

[2024] NSWLC 10

Local Court

New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation:

Hayes v Navre [2024] NSWLC 10

Hearing dates:

17 April 2024

Date of orders:

13 December 2024

Decision date:

13 December 2024

Jurisdiction:

Civil

Before:

Farnan LCM

Decision:

Verdict for the plaintiff

Catchwords:

Motor vehicle hire; credit hire

Cases Cited:

Arsalan v Rixon; Nguyen v Cassim [2021] HCA 40

Cassim v Nguyen [2018] NSWLC 28

Lazicic v Rossi [2024] NSWSC 777

Dimond v Lovell [2002] 1 AC 384

Category:

Principal judgment

Parties:

Kylie Hayes Plaintiff
Ketki Navre Defendant

Representation:

Counsel:
C Carter (plaintiff)
K Oliver (defendant)

Solicitors:
RTN Law (plaintiff)
MCK Lawyers (defendant)

File Number(s):

2023/00016841

Publication restriction:

No

1. On 21 May 2021 the plaintiff was driving her 2019 Toyota Kluger on Canberra Crescent Campbelltown NSW when the defendant unexpectedly opened the driver’s door of his parked vehicle striking her vehicle. It is not in dispute that the defendant was negligent. Although Ms Hayes’ vehicle was driveable, it required significant repair. For reasons that are explained in her affidavit, the vehicle remained with the repairer for 77 days. There is now no dispute that the period of repair was reasonable, nor that she has standing to sue.

2. Ms Hayes gave evidence that the weekend after the collision she spoke to another mother at a children’s soccer game, who told her about the services provided by Right2Drive. That other person had used Right2Drive when she had been without a vehicle after an accident. On the day that Ms Hayes dropped her vehicle at the repairer she called Right2Drive telling them that she needed a seven seater vehicle similar to her own, as she had four children she needed to drive around. A seven seat Isuzu MU X was delivered to her that evening, on the Monday following the Saturday collision.

3. Ms Hayes entered into an agreement to hire the vehicle. Annexed to her affidavit of 23 January 2024 is a copy of what she described as “the rental agreement and authority to act that I signed” (at para 26).

4. These proceedings concern the defendant’s liability to pay for a total of 77 days’ hire of that replacement vehicle at a total all inclusive cost of $325.85 per day. The defendant says there was an alternative appropriate vehicle available which could have been hired from Hertz at Campbelltown for $158.77 per day. There were also other alternative vehicles available at a lower rate of hire than that agreed to by Ms Hayes.

5. Although evidence was apparently served by the defendant in the proceedings, at the close of the plaintiff’s case no evidence was led by the defendant.

6. The remaining issues that have been identified in the Statement of Agreed Facts and Issues dated 17 April 2024 are relevantly (and retaining the original numbering) as follows:

4. a. Is it open to the defendant to dispute the quantum of the plaintiff’s claim on the ground that the invoice sum is an unreasonable amount of hire costs for the reason that the entirety of the charges…