Ms Kirsty Aitken v Virgin Blue Airlines Pty Ltd

The Federal Court of Australia was asked to consider whether a claimant could extend the time limit for bringing a claim against an airline under the Australian Consumer Law. The claimant, Ms Kirsty Aitken, had brought a claim for compensation for a delayed flight against Virgin Blue Airlines, but the airline argued that the claim was brought beyond the statutory limitation period of six years. The court had to decide whether the statutory limitation period could be extended on the grounds of unconscionability and whether the claimant had acted reasonably in delaying the bringing of the claim.

The court found that the statutory limitation period could be extended if it was unconscionable for the defendant to rely on the limitation period. The court considered whether the claimant had acted reasonably in delaying the bringing of the claim and whether the delay was caused by circumstances beyond the claimant's control. The court found that the claimant had acted reasonably in delaying the bringing of the claim as she had been unable to obtain legal advice due to her financial situation. The court also found that the delay was caused by circumstances beyond the claimant's control as she had not been aware of the delay until after it had occurred.

The court concluded that it was unconscionable for the airline to rely on the limitation period and granted an extension of time for the claimant to bring the claim. The court found that the extension of time was appropriate as the delay was not caused by any fault on the part of the claimant and the claimant had acted reasonably in delaying the bringing of the claim. The court ordered that the claimant's claim was to be determined on its merits, and that the defendant was to bear its own costs of the proceeding.