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Taylor v The Owners - Strata Plan No 11564

Taylor v The Owners - Strata Plan No 11564

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Case Copied 27 July 2012 28 min read

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Supreme Court

New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Taylor v The Owners - Strata Plan No 11564 [2012] NSWSC 842
Hearing dates: 30/03/2012
Decision date: 27 July 2012
Jurisdiction: Common Law
Before: Garling J
Decision:
Order that the separate question be answered as set out in [83].
Order the plaintiffs to pay the defendant's costs.

Catchwords: PROCEDURE - Statutory Interpretation - claim for damages under Compensation to Relatives Act 1987 - Civil Liability Act 2002 - whether Part 2 applies to such proceedings - whether the limit imposed by s 12(2) applies to loss of expectation of financial support from the deceased - meaning of "claimant" in s 12(2)
Legislation Cited: Civil Liability Act 2002
Compensation to Relatives Act 1987
Uniform Civil Procedure Rules
Cases Cited: Carr v Western Australia [2007] HCA 47; (2007) 232 CLR 138
Carroll v Purcell [1961] HCA 81; (1961) 107 CLR 73
Chaina v The Presbyterian Church (NSW) Property Trust [2007] NSWSC 353; (2007) 69 NSWLR 533
Commissioner for Railways (NSW) v Agalianos [1955] HCA 27; (1955) 92 CLR 390
De Sales v IngrilIi [2002] HCA 52; (2002) 212 CLR 338
Dossett v TKJ Nominees Pty Ltd [2003] HCA 69; (2003) 218 CLR 1
Dwight v Bouchier [2003] NSWCA 3
Eastman v The Queen [2000] HCA 29; (2000) 203 CLR 1
Harrison v Melhem (2008) 72 NSWLR 380
Idoport Pty Ltd v National Australia Bank [2000] NSWSC 1215
Kingston v Keprose Pty Ltd (1987) 11 NSWLR 404
Mangion v James Hardie & Co Pty Ltd (1990) 20 NSWLR 100
Nolan v Clifford [1904] HCA 15; (1904) 1 CLR 429;
Parker v The Commonwealth [1965] HCA 12; (1965) 112 CLR 295
Plaintiff S157/2002 v Commonwealth [2003] HCA 2; (2003) 211 CLR 476
Project Blue Sky Inc v Australian Broadcasting Authority [1998] HCA 28; (1998) 194 CLR 355
R v PLV [2001] NSWCCA 282; (2001) 51 NSWLR 736
Re Bolton; Ex Parte Beane [1987] HCA 12; (1987) 162 CLR 514
Ross v The Queen [1979] HCA 29; (1979) 141 CLR 432
Tallglen Pty Ltd v Pay TV Holdings Pty Ltd (1996) 22 ACSR 130
Thiering v Daly [2011] NSWSC 1348
Wik Peoples v Queensland [1996] HCA 40; (1996) 187 CLR 1
Wilson v State Rail Authority of NSW [2010] NSWCA 198
Category: Separate question
Parties: S Taylor (P) (proceedings 10/405732)
L Taylor (P1) (proceedings 12/57679)
M Taylor (P2) (proceedings 12/57679)
The Owners - SP No 11564 (D1) (proceedings 12/57679)
A Lamond (D2)
G Sunn (D3)
C Sunn (D4)
D Rae (D5)
Manly Council (D6)
R Taylor (D7)
Representation: Counsel:
J Poulos QC / V Heath / N Broadbent (P) (proceedings 10/405732)
Mr Butcher (P1, P2) (proceedings 12/57679)
G M Gregg / J Maconachie (D1, D2, D3, D4) (proceedings 10/405732 and 12/57679)
J Lonergan / H Chiu (D5) (proceedings 10/405732 and 12/57679)
S Glascott (D6) (proceedings 10/405732 and 12/57679)
Solicitors:
Craddock Murray Neumann Lawyers (P) (proceedings 10/405732)
Milne Berry & Berger (P1,…

Grounds of appeal

[14] The appellant contends that the primary judge erred in finding that the respondent had discharged the onus of establishing the matters required under the relevant provision.

[15] It was submitted that his Honour failed to give adequate weight to the evidence of the second witness, and that the findings of fact were not reasonably open on the material before the Court.

[16] The respondent, for its part, submits that no error is disclosed, and that the conclusions reached were well within the range of outcomes available to the primary judge.

Consideration

[17] It is convenient to deal first with the question of construction, as the resolution of that issue informs the remaining grounds advanced by the appellant.

[18] For the reasons that follow, we are of the view that the appeal should be allowed in part and the matter remitted for further determination.

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Details

Case: [2012] NSWSC 842
Decision Date: 27 July 2012

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The case of Taylor v The Owners - Strata Plan No 11564 was heard in the Supreme Court of Victoria, involving a dispute between a plaintiff and a strata title corporation over damages for loss of financial support from a deceased family member. The plaintiff, Taylor, sought compensation under the Compensation to Relatives Act 1987 for the loss of financial support from her deceased husband, who was killed in a fall at a strata-titled property. The defendant, the strata corporation, argued that the statutory limitation on damages imposed by the Civil Liability Act 2002 precluded Taylor's claim.

The primary legal issues before the court were whether the limitation provisions in Part 2 of the Civil Liability Act 2002 applied to a claim for damages under the Compensation to Relatives Act 1987, and if so, whether the limitation imposed by section 12(2) of the Civil Liability Act 2002 applied to the loss of expectation of financial support from the deceased. Additionally, the court needed to interpret the meaning of "claimant" in section 12(2) of the Civil Liability Act 2002 to determine the extent of the limitation on damages.

The court found that the limitation provisions in Part 2 of the Civil Liability Act 2002 did apply to the proceedings under the Compensation to Relatives Act 1987. It held that the loss of expectation of financial support from the deceased was covered by the statutory limitation, and that the term "claimant" in section 12(2) of the Civil Liability Act 2002 encompassed not only those directly injured but also those who claim damages for loss of financial support from the deceased. Consequently, the court upheld the strata corporation's argument that the statutory limit on damages applied to Taylor's claim, effectively reducing the amount of compensation she could receive.

The court ordered that the statutory limitation on damages imposed by section 12(2) of the Civil Liability Act 2002 applied to Taylor's claim for loss of expectation of financial support from her deceased husband, thereby reducing the amount of damages she could recover. The final orders were that the claim was to be reduced in accordance with the statutory limit and that the strata corporation was not liable to pay the full amount of damages sought by Taylor.

Orders