Saint-Gobain Abrasives Pty Ltd v McPHERSON

Saint-Gobain Abrasives Pty Ltd appealed to the New South Wales Court of Appeal against a judgment of the primary judge in favour of the respondent, Mr. McPherson. The dispute concerned Mr. McPherson's claim for damages arising from the alleged supply of defective goods by Saint-Gobain Abrasives Pty Ltd, a claim brought under Commonwealth law.

The Court of Appeal was required to determine whether the objective and statistical evidence presented by the appellant was sufficient to compel the rejection of Mr. McPherson's witness testimony regarding the alleged defect. Furthermore, the Court had to consider whether this objective evidence established that the goods were not defective or, alternatively, that Saint-Gobain Abrasives Pty Ltd was entitled to statutory defences.

The Court of Appeal, in dismissing the appeal, found that the statistical evidence presented by the appellant did not, on its own, demonstrate that the goods were not defective. The judges reasoned that such evidence, while potentially relevant, did not necessarily negate the possibility of a defect in the specific goods supplied to the respondent. The objective evidence was not considered sufficiently compelling to override the primary judge's assessment of the witness testimony. The Court applied principles relating to the weight and sufficiency of evidence, particularly the interplay between expert and statistical evidence and direct witness accounts, in the context of consumer protection legislation.

The appeal was dismissed with costs.