Sarah Morgan (a pseudonym) v Public Trustee and Guardian (Appeal)

Sarah Morgan, under a pseudonym, appealed a decision of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) concerning a claim against the Public Trustee and Guardian (PTG) for negligent disposal of goods. The dispute arose from the PTG's failure to return personal property belonging to Morgan and her sister Nadine, which was disposed of by the Commissioner for Social Housing (Housing ACT) after the PTG surrendered a lease on Nadine's rental property. The AAT found that the PTG had breached its duty to Morgan by not affording her a reasonable opportunity to retrieve the personal property. The primary legal issue before the court was the assessment of damages for the loss of the goods. Specifically, the court had to determine the appropriate valuation date for the goods and the applicable discount for their used condition at the time of disposal.

The court considered that the original tribunal had erred in its assessment of the loss by not applying the correct principles. The tribunal should have used the date of disposal as the valuation date, and applied a discount for the used condition of the goods. The court noted that the tribunal had misapplied the principles by not considering the condition of the goods at the time of disposal and had failed to conduct a real review of the evidence and apply the correct principles. The tribunal's reliance on new values for the goods, rather than their used values at the time of disposal, was deemed incorrect. The court concluded that the tribunal should have used its own knowledge and the evidence before it to determine the appropriate discount for the used condition of the goods. The tribunal's error in principle warranted a full review of the decision.

The court set aside the original tribunal's order and substituted it with an order that the PTG pay Morgan $2,095 within 28 days, reflecting the correct assessment of damages based on the used value of the goods at the time of disposal. The court emphasized the importance of tribunals applying the correct principles and conducting a real review of the evidence when assessing damages.