Turjman v Stonewall Hotel Pty Ltd

In *Turjman v Stonewall Hotel Pty Ltd*, the plaintiffs, who were injured when a hotel ceiling collapsed, appealed to the Court of Appeal of New South Wales against a finding at trial that factual causation had not been established between the hotel owner's breach of duty and their injuries. The hotel owner, Stonewall Hotel Pty Ltd, had renewed its licence as a place of public entertainment in 2002, after the ceiling had been installed in 1993. A structural engineer had provided a certificate stating the premises were structurally sound, but the hotel owner had failed to inform the engineer of activities such as dancing that took place at the hotel.

The primary legal issues before the Court of Appeal were whether the finding of no factual causation was erroneous, and whether leave should be granted to argue on appeal a breach of an implied warranty that the premises were as safe for their purpose as reasonable care and skill could make them. The court considered the evidence of the structural engineers regarding what the engineer would have done had they been informed of the dancing activities.

By majority, the Court of Appeal held that the finding of no factual causation was not erroneous. The court analysed the experts' evidence and concluded that it was not in the interests of justice to grant leave to argue the implied warranty claim, particularly as the facts had not been fully found in relation to that issue.

Consequently, in each appeal, the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeals with costs.