Ventouris Enterprises Pty Ltd v Dib Group Pty Ltd (No 2)

Ventouris Enterprises Pty Ltd, the plaintiff, brought an action against Dib Group Pty Ltd, the defendant, in the Supreme Court of New South Wales. The plaintiff sought damages for losses and damages resulting from misleading and deceptive conduct by the defendant. The defendant admitted liability for the misleading conduct, but the extent of the damages and the apportionment of liability between concurrent wrongdoers were contested.

The primary legal issues before the court were the extent of the damages attributable to the defendant's conduct and the apportionment of liability between the concurrent wrongdoers. The court had to determine whether the plaintiff's claim for damages should be reduced based on the defendant's proportionate liability under the Civil Liability Act 2003 and whether the issue estoppel principle applied due to an earlier judgment.

The court applied the principle of proportionate liability as outlined in Reinhold v NSW Lotteries Corporation (No. 2) [2008] NSWSC 187, which held that the plaintiff's damages should be reduced by the proportion of liability attributable to the defendant. The court found that the defendant's liability was limited to 80% of the loss and damage claimed by the plaintiff. The court further held that the issue estoppel principle did not apply, as the earlier judgment did not determine the extent of the plaintiff's damages. The court ordered the defendant to pay 75% of the plaintiff's total costs of the proceedings to date, as the proceedings were lengthened by the issues on which the plaintiff was unsuccessful.

The final orders included the defendant's liability being limited to 80% of the damages claimed by the plaintiff, the issue estoppel principle not applying, and the defendant ordered to pay 75% of the plaintiff's total costs of the proceedings to date.