Perisher Blue Pty Ltd v Nair-Smith

Perisher Blue Pty Ltd appealed from a judgment of Beech-Jones J in favour of the respondent, Nair-Smith, who had suffered injury while boarding a chairlift at Perisher Valley ski resort. The primary dispute concerned whether Perisher Blue had breached its duty of care to Nair-Smith, and if so, whether that breach caused her injuries.

The court was required to determine whether Perisher Blue owed a duty of care to Nair-Smith, the nature and scope of that duty, and whether the risk of injury from boarding a chairlift with the safety bar down, and the operator raising it, was a relevant risk for the purposes of negligence. Further, the court had to consider whether any breach of duty by Perisher Blue caused Nair-Smith's damage, and whether the materialisation of an inherent risk was a factor. The court also considered contractual claims under the Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth) and the potential inconsistency between state and federal legislation.

The Court of Appeal found that the trial judge had erred in finding a breach of duty. It held that the operator's action of raising the safety bar as the chair approached was not negligent. The court reasoned that the operator was entitled to assume that a reasonably competent skier would be able to board the chairlift safely, and that the risk of injury in this specific scenario was not one that Perisher Blue ought to have foreseen or guarded against. The court also addressed the contractual claims, finding that the exclusion clauses in the contract were effective and that there was no contravention of the Trade Practices Act.

The appeal was allowed, and the verdict and judgment in favour of Nair-Smith were set aside, with judgment entered for Perisher Blue Pty Ltd. Nair-Smith was ordered to pay Perisher Blue's costs of the proceedings, and Perisher Blue was ordered to pay one-half of Nair-Smith's costs of the appeal.