PAB Security Pty Ltd v Mahina

PAB Security Pty Ltd (the appellant) appealed a decision of the primary judge in favour of the respondent, Mahina. The dispute concerned allegations of negligence arising from an incident where the respondent, a security guard employed by the appellant, was shot outside a nightclub. The respondent contended that the appellant failed to provide a safe system of work, leading to his injury.

The central legal issues before the Court of Appeal were whether the primary judge erred in accepting and rejecting certain evidence, particularly concerning a threat made by a member of a group engaged in a fight outside the nightclub. The court was required to determine if the respondent was the specific target of this threat, whether it was reasonably foreseeable that the group or another person on their behalf would return and shoot the respondent, and if the appellant breached its duty of care by not rotating the respondent inside the nightclub to perform security duties. Furthermore, the court had to consider whether the respondent would have been shot in any event, even if he had been rotated inside.

The Court of Appeal considered the evidence presented and affirmed the primary judge's findings regarding the foreseeability of the risk of injury to the respondent. The court reasoned that the appellant owed a duty of care to its employees to take reasonable steps to prevent foreseeable harm. The failure to rotate the respondent inside the nightclub was found to be a breach of this duty, as it exposed him to a foreseeable risk of harm from individuals who had previously caused a disturbance. The court also addressed the issue of causation, concluding that the breach of duty was causative of the respondent's injuries.

The appeal was dismissed, and the appellant was ordered to pay the costs of the appeal.