Indigo Mist Pty Ltd v Palmer

Indigo Mist Pty Ltd and Robert Geammal (the occupiers) and Paul Kelly Design Pty Ltd (the architect) appealed to the Court of Appeal of New South Wales against a decision of the primary judge who found them liable in negligence for injuries sustained by Ms Palmer when she slipped on internal stairs at a hotel. Ms Palmer had cross-appealed against the apportionment of liability.

The central legal issues before the Court of Appeal were whether the occupiers and the architect had breached their respective duties of care to Ms Palmer, and if so, whether that breach caused her injuries. The Court was required to consider the foreseeability of the risk of slipping on the stairs and the adequacy of the steps taken by the occupiers and the architect to mitigate that risk, in light of the *Civil Liability Act 2002*. The Court also had to determine the appropriate apportionment of liability between the defendants and consider whether Ms Palmer was contributorily negligent.

The Court of Appeal upheld the primary judge's findings of negligence against both the occupiers and the architect. The Court reasoned that the risk of a patron slipping on the internal stairs was foreseeable, and that neither the occupiers nor the architect had taken reasonable precautions to prevent such an occurrence. The occupiers' failure to provide adequate warning or to address the slippery nature of the stairs, and the architect's design which did not adequately account for the risk of slipping, were found to be breaches of duty. The Court found that these breaches caused Ms Palmer's injuries and dismissed the appeals and cross-appeal, ordering the appellants to pay Ms Palmer's costs.