Penrith City Council v East Realisations Pty Limited (in liq)

In *Penrith City Council v East Realisations Pty Limited (in liq)*, the Court of Appeal of New South Wales considered an appeal concerning a claim for indemnity under section 151Z of the *Workers Compensation Act 1987* (NSW). The dispute arose from a near collision between a bus and a vehicle, which allegedly caused injury to a worker who was a passenger on the bus. The primary judge had made findings in favour of the respondent, and the appellant sought to overturn these.

The central legal issues before the Court of Appeal were whether the primary judge had erred in several respects. These included whether the primary judge ought to have inferred that the driver of the other vehicle negligently stopped in an intersection, whether the primary judge incorrectly restricted the bus driver's duty of care to merely avoiding a collision and consequently failed to identify the risk of injury to the passenger, and whether insufficient weight was given to evidence regarding the speed of the bus and the driver's knowledge of the conditions. Furthermore, the court had to determine if the primary judge erred in requiring the identification of the owner and insurer of the specific bus involved, rather than the fleet of buses, for the purposes of section 34(1) of the *Motor Accidents Compensation Act 1999* (NSW).

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, upholding the primary judge's decision. The court found no error in the primary judge's assessment of the evidence and the application of legal principles relating to negligence and the duty of care owed by a bus driver to passengers. The court also affirmed the primary judge's interpretation of the *Motor Accidents Compensation Act 1999* regarding the identification of the relevant insurer. Consequently, the appeal was dismissed with costs.