Iletrait Pty Ltd v McInnes

Iletrait Pty Ltd (the appellant) appealed to the New South Wales Court of Appeal against a decision of the Supreme Court of New South Wales. The dispute concerned the appellant's liability for damages arising from a motor vehicle accident in which the respondent, Mr. McInnes, sustained injuries. The primary issue on appeal was whether the appellant was vicariously liable for the negligence of its employee, Mr. Davies, who was driving a vehicle owned by the appellant at the time of the accident.

The Court of Appeal was required to determine whether Mr. Davies was acting within the scope of his employment at the time of the collision. Specifically, the court had to consider whether the appellant had sufficiently established that Mr. Davies was on a "frolic of his own" or if his actions were so connected with or incidental to his employment that the appellant could be held vicariously liable.

The Court of Appeal found that Mr. Davies was not on a frolic of his own. The evidence indicated that Mr. Davies had been instructed to drive the appellant's vehicle to a particular location for a work-related purpose. While he deviated from the most direct route to attend to a personal matter, the court held that this deviation was not so significant as to take him outside the scope of his employment. The court applied the principle that an employer is vicariously liable for the torts of an employee committed in the course of employment, even if those torts involve a deviation from the employer's instructions, provided the deviation is not so substantial as to amount to a complete departure from the employment.

The appeal was dismissed, and the appellant was ordered to pay the costs of the appeal.