Sarkis v Summitt Broadway Pty Ltd trading as Sydney City Mitsubishi

The appeal concerned the plaintiff, Sarkis, and the defendant, Summitt Broadway Pty Ltd trading as Sydney City Mitsubishi. The dispute arose from the suicide of the plaintiff's deceased husband, who had been a customer of the defendant. The plaintiff alleged that the defendant's negligence caused or contributed to her husband's death. The matter was heard in the Court of Appeal of New South Wales.

The central legal issue before the Court of Appeal was whether the deceased's suicide broke the chain of causation, thereby absolving the defendant of liability for negligence. This required the court to consider the principles of causation in tort law, particularly in circumstances where a subsequent voluntary act of a third party, or the victim themselves, intervenes between the alleged negligence and the ultimate harm.

The Court of Appeal found that the deceased's suicide was not a foreseeable consequence of the defendant's conduct. Applying the principles of causation, the court determined that the deceased's voluntary act of suicide was a novus actus interveniens, which broke the chain of causation between any negligence on the part of the defendant and the death. Consequently, the defendant was not liable for the death.

The appeal was allowed, and the judgment of the District Court was set aside. In its place, a judgment was entered for the plaintiff for $8,146.80, with effect from 20 May 2005, and without costs. The respondent was also to receive a certificate under the Suitors' Fund Act 1951, provided they qualified.