Yun Hee Choi v City of Sydney Council & 4 others

The plaintiff, Yun Hee Choi, brought an action against the City of Sydney Council and four others, seeking damages for injuries sustained when a tree branch fell on her in a park managed by the Council. The case was heard in the Supreme Court of New South Wales. The central issue before the court was whether the Council owed a duty of care to the plaintiff to protect her from the risk of injury by falling tree branches, and whether this duty, if any, was breached. The court was also required to consider whether the Council's duty could be delegated to a contractor, and if so, whether the contractor was in breach of any duty owed to the plaintiff. Additionally, the court needed to determine whether any duty owed by the contractor could be delegated to a subcontractor.

The court held that the Council did owe a duty of care to the plaintiff to ensure the safety of the park and to prevent reasonably foreseeable harm from falling tree branches. The court found that the tree from which the branch fell was indeed dangerous, and that the Council's duty of care was not delegable in the circumstances of this case. The Council had delegated its duty to the contractor, but the court found that the contractor was not in breach of any duty owed to the plaintiff. The court concluded that the contractor's duty, if any, could not be delegated to the subcontractor. Regarding the assessment of damages, the court determined that the plaintiff's brain damage warranted substantial compensation.

The court ordered the City of Sydney Council to pay the plaintiff damages for her injuries, reflecting the severity of her brain damage and the impact on her life. The precise amount of damages was to be determined in a subsequent assessment.