Morris v Redland City Council

The plaintiff, while holidaying on North Stradbroke Island, attempted to locate stairs that he believed led to a beach, having consumed alcohol. Following what he considered to be a path, the plaintiff leant against a tree to look for the stairs and fell to the beach below, sustaining serious injuries. The plaintiff brought proceedings against the Redland City Council, which was responsible for the management of the area, and a company, the second defendant, that had leased the house the plaintiff had rented. The plaintiff alleged that the Council had failed to erect warning signs and had not conducted a risk assessment, thereby breaching its duty of care. The plaintiff further claimed that the risk of falling from the top of the cliff was reasonably foreseeable, and the risk of injury was not an obvious risk. The Council denied liability, asserting that it had no duty to erect warning signs or conduct a risk assessment, and that the risk was obvious. The company denied any liability, and judgment was entered for it by consent. The primary issue before the court was whether the Council owed a duty of care to the plaintiff and whether that duty had been breached. A secondary issue was whether the risk of injury was an obvious risk.

The court found that the Council had no duty to erect warning signs or conduct a risk assessment. The court held that the risk of falling from the top of the cliff was not reasonably foreseeable, and that the risk was an obvious one. The court further held that the plaintiff had failed to establish that the Council had breached its duty of care. The court found that the claim against the company was hopeless, and that the plaintiff had elected not to lead evidence against it. The court held that the plaintiff's claim against the Council was a hopeless case, and that the plaintiff had made a Calderbank offer. The court ordered that the plaintiff pay the Council's costs of the action on the indemnity basis. The court dismissed the plaintiff's claim against both defendants.