James Hardie & Coy Pty Ltd v Roberts

The plaintiff's estate brought proceedings against the defendant, James Hardie & Coy Pty Ltd, and other parties (though the focus of this summary is on James Hardie) for damages arising from dust diseases. The dispute concerned the appropriate measure of damages recoverable by the plaintiff's estate, particularly in relation to the destruction of the deceased's earning capacity. The matter was heard in the Court of Appeal of New South Wales.

The primary legal issue before the Court of Appeal was whether the plaintiff's estate could recover damages for the loss of the deceased's future earning capacity for the period that would have constituted his remaining working life, had he not succumbed to his dust-related illness. A secondary issue, though not central to the appeal's determination, involved the apportionment of damages amongst multiple defendants, with no dispute raised as to causation.

The Court of Appeal affirmed the principle that an estate may recover damages for the destruction of a deceased's earning capacity during the remainder of what would have been their working life. This principle acknowledges that the loss of future earnings is a quantifiable damage, even though the deceased will not personally benefit from the recovery. The court applied established principles of negligence and damages assessment in dust disease litigation, confirming that the measure of damages should reflect the economic loss suffered by the estate due to the premature termination of the deceased's capacity to earn income.

The appeal and cross-appeal were dismissed, with the Court ordering that the appellant (James Hardie & Coy Pty Ltd) pay the costs of the respondent.