NSW Land and Housing Corporation v Dia

The New South Wales Land and Housing Corporation appealed to the Court of Appeal of New South Wales against a decision of the primary judge who found the Corporation liable in negligence for injuries sustained by a 12-year-old boy. The boy had fallen from the stairs of a unit block owned and managed by the Corporation when a stair railing capping, which he had held onto, dislodged as he was descending the stairs quickly and looking over the railing for his friend. The primary judge had determined that the Corporation breached its duty of care by failing to provide secure capping.

The central legal issues before the Court of Appeal were whether the primary judge erred in finding that the Corporation's breach of duty was a causative factor in the respondent's injury, whether the primary judge was correct in preferring the evidence of one expert witness over another, and whether the primary judge's findings were inconsistent with incontrovertible facts, glaringly improbable, or contrary to compelling inferences.

The Court of Appeal considered the evidence presented, including expert testimony regarding the dislodgement of the stair railing capping and the circumstances of the fall. The Court found no error in the primary judge's assessment of the evidence and the application of the principles of negligence, particularly concerning causation. The Court affirmed the primary judge's findings that the dislodged capping was a cause of the respondent's injury and that the Corporation had breached its duty of care.

The Court of Appeal extended the time for the Corporation to file an application for leave to appeal, granted leave to appeal, but ultimately dismissed the appeal. The Corporation was ordered to pay the plaintiff's costs of the appeal.