Reeve v Commonwealth

In the matter of Reeve v Commonwealth, the plaintiff, Robert Reeve, sought damages against the Commonwealth for alleged negligent misstatement and breach of statutory duty related to superannuation advice. The dispute centred on advice given to Reeve by the Commonwealth, which led him to forego joining a public sector superannuation fund when he was eligible. The case was heard in the Federal Court of Australia. Reeve argued that the Commonwealth's advice was negligent, resulting in pure economic loss, and that the Commonwealth breached statutory duties under the Superannuation Acts.

The court needed to determine whether the Commonwealth owed a duty of care to Reeve that, when breached, resulted in actionable damages for pure economic loss. Additionally, the court had to assess whether certain sections of the Superannuation Acts created a statutory duty that, when breached, could give rise to a cause of action in tort. The court found that while the negligent misstatement claim was successful, the common law negligence and statutory duty claims were not. The negligent misstatement claim succeeded because the Commonwealth's advice was found to be negligent and directly caused Reeve's economic loss. The court held that no duty of care was owed in the circumstances of the common law negligence claim, and the statutory duty claims failed because the relevant sections of the Superannuation Acts did not create a duty of care in tort.

The court granted judgment in favour of Reeve on the negligent misstatement claim but dismissed the common law negligence and statutory duty claims. In assessing damages for the negligent misstatement, the court considered competing actuarial reports to determine the appropriate compensation. The court also granted leave to Reeve to apply for additional damages if a tax liability was imposed on the judgment sum. The final orders included a judgment in Reeve's favour on the negligent misstatement claim, a direction for the parties to submit material for quantifying damages, and a hearing on costs.