Trustees of the Roman Catholic Church for the Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle v AA

The Trustees of the Roman Catholic Church for the Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle (the appellant) appealed to the Court of Appeal of New South Wales against a judgment in favour of AA (the respondent) in a claim for damages for historical sexual assault. The respondent alleged that the appellant owed him a duty of care in 1969 when he was sexually assaulted by an assistant priest.

The primary legal issues before the Court of Appeal were whether the appellant owed a duty of care to the respondent in 1969, whether the appellant could be held liable for the intentional criminal act of the assistant priest through a non-delegable duty, and whether the primary judge had sufficiently considered inconsistencies in the respondent's account when making findings of fact. The Court also considered the juristic nature of the appellant as the defendant and the significance of the litigation proceeding on the basis that the alleged abuser was a parish priest rather than an assistant priest.

The Court of Appeal found that the appellant did not owe a duty of care to the respondent in 1969. The Court reasoned that the alleged abuser was an assistant priest, and there was no evidence to establish foreseeability of harm by an assistant priest in the circumstances. Furthermore, the Court held that a non-delegable duty of care does not extend to intentional criminal acts of a third party. Consequently, the appeal was allowed, the judgment in favour of the respondent was set aside, and the proceedings were dismissed.