McMahon v Lagana and Lavella trading as the Vessel Nimble Ii

McMahon (the plaintiff) brought proceedings against Lagana and Lavella, trading as the Vessel Nimble II (the defendants), in the Supreme Court of New South Wales. The dispute concerned the plaintiff's claim for damages arising from a collision between his vessel, the 'Sea Serpent', and the defendants' vessel, the 'Nimble II', which occurred on 18 January 2001. The plaintiff alleged that the collision was caused by the negligence of the defendants' vessel.

The primary legal issue before the court was to determine liability for the collision. Specifically, the court was required to ascertain whether the defendants' vessel was negligent and, if so, whether that negligence caused the collision and the resulting damage to the plaintiff's vessel. The court also had to consider the plaintiff's own conduct to determine if any contributory negligence on his part should reduce the damages awarded.

Gleeson CJ and Callinan J found that the defendants' vessel was solely responsible for the collision. Their Honours applied the principles of maritime law and the rules of the road at sea, which dictate the conduct of vessels to avoid collisions. The court concluded that the master of the Nimble II failed to take appropriate action to avoid the collision, thereby breaching his duty of care to the plaintiff. The court rejected the defendants' arguments that the plaintiff was contributorily negligent, finding that the plaintiff had acted reasonably in the circumstances. Consequently, the court ordered that the defendants were liable for the full extent of the plaintiff's damages.