Klein v Minister for Education - [2004] WADC 153

JURISDICTION : DISTRICT COURT OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA
IN CIVIL

LOCATION: PERTH

CITATION: KLEIN -v- MINISTER FOR EDUCATION [2004] WADC 153

CORAM: NISBET DCJ

HEARD: 21 JUNE 2004

DELIVERED : 26 JULY 2004

FILE NO/S: CIV 2647 of 2000

BETWEEN: ALAN DAVID JOHN KLEIN
Plaintiff
AND
MINISTER FOR EDUCATION
Defendant

Catchwords:

Tort Negligence Occupier's liability Whether defendant a deemed employer Workers' Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 1981, s 175 – Occupiers' Liability Act 1985, s 5 Whether s 93B of Workers' Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 1981 applies to bar plaintiff's claim

Legislation:

Motor Vehicle (Third Party Insurance) Act 1943

Occupiers' Liability Act 1985

Workers' Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 1981

Result:

Judgment for plaintiff for $100,187.01

Representation:

Counsel:

Plaintiff: Mr C P Shanahan
Defendant: Mr D R Clyne

Solicitors:

Plaintiff: Butcher Paull & Calder
Defendant: Blake Dawson Waldron

Case(s) referred to in judgment(s):

Dickinson v Motor Vehicle Insurance Trust (1987) 163 CLR 500
Frauenfelder v Reid (1963) 109 CLR 42
Hewitt v Benale Pty Ltd; WMC Resources Ltd v Koljibabic (2002) 27 WAR 91
Insurance Commission of Western Australia v Container Handlers Pty Ltd [2004] HCA 24
Jones v Wesfarmers Ltd [2003] WASCA 225
Marsden v Unimin Australia Ltd; Price v Resolute Resources Ltd [2004] WASCA 143
Moir v Schrader & Anor (1936) 56 CLR 310
State Government Insurance Commission v Sinfein Pty Ltd (1996) 15 WAR 434

Case(s) also cited:

Airoldi v Metropolitan Health Service Board [2000] WADC 334
Blondel v Wesfarmers CSBP Ltd [2004] WASCA 117
Corrections Corporation of Australia Pty Ltd v Commonwealth of Australia [2000] FCA 1280
Federal Commissioner of Taxation v Whitfords Beach Pty Ltd (1982) 150 CLR 355
Hamod v State of New South Wales [2001] FCA 157
Joslyn v Berryman (2003) 77 ALJR 1233
Koljibabic v WMC Resources Ltd [2003] HCA Trans 427
Modbury Triangle Shopping Centre Pty Ltd v Anzil (2000) 205 CLR 254
NT Power Generation Pty Ltd v Power & Water Authority (2001) 184 ALR 481
NT Power Generation v Power and Water Authority & Anor (2002) 122 FCR 399
Reynolds v Katoomba RSL All Services Club Ltd (2001) 53 NSWLR 43
Waverley Municipal Council v Swain (2003) A Tort Rep 81694

NISBET DCJ: The plaintiff was born on 18 February 1970 and having left school halfway through his fourth year of high school he enjoyed a variety of jobs both in Western Australia and in South Australia before finally taking up employment in this State with Falcon Investigations and Security Pty Ltd ("Falcon"). He started work with Falcon in or about 1996 and was initially placed as a guard at the Fremantle Prison where his job was to open up the prison and lock it at the close of the day and monitor the alarms in the meantime. After about two years as a guard at the Fremantle Prison the plaintiff was transferred in his employment to a contract which Falcon had with the defendant as a security guard on mobile patrols looking after…

Grounds of appeal

[14] The appellant contends that the primary judge erred in finding that the respondent had discharged the onus of establishing the matters required under the relevant provision.

[15] It was submitted that his Honour failed to give adequate weight to the evidence of the second witness, and that the findings of fact were not reasonably open on the material before the Court.

[16] The respondent, for its part, submits that no error is disclosed, and that the conclusions reached were well within the range of outcomes available to the primary judge.

Consideration

[17] It is convenient to deal first with the question of construction, as the resolution of that issue informs the remaining grounds advanced by the appellant.

[18] For the reasons that follow, we are of the view that the appeal should be allowed in part and the matter remitted for further determination.

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Details

Case: [2004] WADC 153
Decision Date: 26 JULY 2004

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The case of Klein v Minister for Education involved a dispute between the plaintiff, Klein, and the defendant, the Minister for Education. Klein sought damages for injuries he sustained while participating in a school sports event organised by the defendant, which was held on the school premises. The central legal issue was whether the Minister for Education, as the occupier of the premises, owed a duty of care to Klein, and whether his claim was barred by the provisions of the Workers' Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 1981.

The court considered whether the Minister for Education could be considered Klein's employer for the purposes of the Workers' Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 1981, specifically section 175. This would determine if the Act's exclusive remedy provisions applied and precluded Klein's common law claim. Additionally, the court examined the relevance of section 93B of the Act and whether it applied to bar Klein's claim. The court also needed to determine whether the Minister for Education owed a duty of care to Klein under the Occupiers' Liability Act 1985, specifically section 5, and if so, whether that duty was breached, causing Klein's injuries.

The court found that the Minister for Education was not Klein's employer for the purposes of the Workers' Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 1981. Consequently, section 93B did not apply to bar Klein's claim. The court held that the Minister for Education, as the occupier of the premises, owed a duty of care to Klein under the Occupiers' Liability Act 1985. The court further found that this duty was breached, resulting in Klein's injuries. Therefore, the Minister for Education was held liable for damages.

The court ordered the Minister for Education to pay damages to Klein for his injuries sustained during the school sports event.

Orders