Sweeney v Boylan Nominees Pty Ltd

The case of *Sweeney v Boylan Nominees Pty Ltd* concerned a dispute between the appellant, Ms Sweeney, and the respondent, Boylan Nominees Pty Ltd, regarding injuries sustained by Ms Sweeney while she was a patron at a hotel operated by the respondent. The matter came before the High Court of Australia.

The central legal issue before the High Court was whether the respondent owed a duty of care to Ms Sweeney to prevent her from suffering injury as a result of the actions of a third party, specifically an intoxicated patron who assaulted her. This involved considering the scope of the duty of care owed by occupiers of premises to their invitees, and whether that duty extended to protecting invitees from foreseeable harm caused by the conduct of other patrons.

The High Court, by majority, held that an occupier of premises owes a duty of care to its invitees to take reasonable steps to protect them from foreseeable harm. This duty extends to protecting invitees from the foreseeable risk of injury caused by the conduct of other persons on the premises. The Court reasoned that the risk of injury from an intoxicated patron was a foreseeable one in the context of a hotel, and that the occupier had a sufficient degree of control over the premises and the conduct of patrons to take reasonable steps to mitigate that risk. The Court considered the principles established in cases such as *Australian Safeway Stores Pty Ltd v Zaluzna* and *Adeels Palace Pty Ltd v Moubarak*, applying them to the facts of the present case.

The appeal was allowed, and the matter was remitted to the Supreme Court of Queensland for determination of the question of liability and damages.