St George Fertility Centre Pty Ltd v Clark

The plaintiff, St George Fertility Centre Pty Ltd, conducted a practice involving assisted reproductive technology. The defendant, Clark, had supplied sperm to the plaintiff for use in the practice. However, the sperm turned out to be valueless. The plaintiff sued for damages, claiming that the sperm was not fit for the purpose for which it was supplied. The case was heard in the Supreme Court of New South Wales.

The central legal issues in the case were the assessment of damages for breach of contract in the sale of goods and the appropriate time to measure the value of the goods. The court had to determine whether subsequent changes in legislation, codes of practice, and ethical guidelines should be taken into account when assessing the value of the sperm. Additionally, the court needed to decide whether credit should be given for any betterment of the sperm after the breach.

The court held that the value of the sperm at the time of the breach should be assessed, taking into account the circumstances at that time. The court found that subsequent changes in legislation, codes of practice, and ethical guidelines should not be considered when determining the value of the sperm at the time of the breach. The court also ruled that no credit should be given for any betterment of the sperm after the breach. The court awarded the plaintiff damages for the breach of contract, calculated based on the value of the sperm at the time of the breach. The court further ordered that the plaintiff was not entitled to any credit for any subsequent improvement in the value of the sperm.