Willett v Futcher

The appellant, Willett, brought proceedings against the respondent, Futcher, alleging negligence that resulted in brain damage. Due to this injury, the appellant was unable to manage her financial affairs, and an administrator was appointed. The dispute before the High Court of Australia concerned the assessment of damages, specifically the inclusion of reasonable management fees for the administrator.

The central legal issue was how to calculate the "sum by way of damages in respect of reasonable management fees of the administrator." This required the court to determine whether the need for fund management arose directly from the respondent's negligence and, if so, what kinds of costs associated with managing the funds should be allowed in the assessment of damages. The court also had to consider whether the damages should be assessed based on the position of an appellant who had not been awarded a lump sum, or on the position of an appellant who had a lump sum to invest but suffered a disabling injury.

The High Court allowed the appeal, setting aside the orders of the Court of Appeal of Queensland. The Court found it unnecessary to definitively rule on the appellant's argument regarding double counting in the Court of Appeal's assessment. Instead, it remitted the matter back to the Court of Appeal for a fresh assessment of damages. The parties were granted liberty to argue the double counting issue before the Court of Appeal, which was to reconsider the matter unconstrained by its previous findings. The title of the proceeding was also amended to remove the designation "an infant."