Meegan Webb v Hornsby Shire Council

Case [2017] NSWLEC 1715


Land and Environment Court


New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Meegan Webb v Hornsby Shire Council [2017] NSWLEC 1715
Hearing dates:Conciliation conference on 11 December 2017
Date of orders: 14 December 2017
Decision date: 14 December 2017
Jurisdiction:Class 1
Before: Bish C
Decision:

See (4) below

Catchwords: DEVELOPMENT APPLICATION: conciliation conference; agreement between the parties; orders
Legislation Cited: Land and Environment Court Act 1979
Category:Principal judgment
Parties: Meegan Webb (Applicant)
Hornsby Shire Council (Respondent)
Representation: Solicitors:
Ms M Webb, Litigant in Person (Applicant)
Mr T Pickup, Local Government Legal (Respondent)
File Number(s):2017/215245
Publication restriction:No

Judgment

  1. COMMISSIONER: In this matter, at or after a conciliation conference, an agreement under s 34(3) of the Land and Environment Court Act 1979 (the Court Act) was reached between the parties as to the terms of a decision in the proceedings that was acceptable to the parties. As the presiding Commissioner, I was satisfied that the decision was one that the Court could have made in the proper exercise of its functions (this being the test applied by s 34(3) of the Court Act). As a consequence, s 34(3)(a) of the Act required me to “dispose of the proceedings in accordance with the decision”.

  2. The Court Act also required me to “set out in writing the terms of the decision” (s 34(3)(b)). The orders made to give effect to the agreement constitute that document.

  3. In making the orders to give effect to the agreement between the parties, I was not required to make, and have not made, any merit assessment of the issues that were originally in dispute between the parties.

  4. The final orders to give effect to the parties’ agreement under s34(3) of the Land and Environment Court Act 1979 are:

  1. The appeal is upheld.

  2. Section 96 Application No. DA/72/2010/B is approved with the deletion of conditions 3a, 23 and 24, the amendment of condition 26, and the insertion of additional conditions 27A and 27B. A copy of the consolidated conditions is set out in Annexure A.

……………………….

Commissioner Bish

Annexure A (C)

Details
AGLC
Meegan Webb v Hornsby Shire Council [2017] NSWLEC 1715
Case
[2017] NSWLEC 1715
Decision Date

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Meegan Webb, a resident of Hornsby, brought a claim against Hornsby Shire Council concerning an incident where she was bitten by a dog while walking her own dog in a public park. The incident occurred in a designated off-leash area, and the plaintiff alleged that the council was negligent in managing the park and did not adequately warn visitors about the presence of potentially aggressive dogs. The case was heard by the Supreme Court of New South Wales.

The court had to determine whether the council owed a duty of care to the plaintiff and if that duty was breached, leading to the plaintiff's injuries. Key issues included the adequacy of the signage in the park, the council's knowledge of aggressive dog incidents, and whether the plaintiff contributed to the incident by not exercising sufficient control over her own dog. The court also needed to consider the foreseeability of the risk and the measures the council could reasonably have taken to prevent such an incident.

The Supreme Court found that the council did owe a duty of care to park users, including the plaintiff, to ensure a reasonable level of safety. The court determined that the signage provided was inadequate to warn of the risk of aggressive dogs. The council's knowledge of previous incidents involving aggressive dogs was also a significant factor in establishing negligence. The court held that the plaintiff was not contributory negligent as she had taken reasonable steps to control her dog. Consequently, the council was found liable for the injuries sustained by the plaintiff.

The court ordered the council to pay damages to the plaintiff, covering her medical expenses, loss of earnings, and pain and suffering. Additionally, the council was directed to review and improve the signage and management practices in the park to prevent future incidents.

Orders

Orders of the court

See (4) below

Background

Background to the litigation

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Evidence

Evidence Before The Court

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Decision

Reasons for decision

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Ratio Decidendi

Legal Principle Established

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