Zaya v RPS Manidis Roberts Pty Ltd and UGL Engineering Pty Ltd t/a Energised Alliance

The plaintiff, Zaya, appealed to the Court of Appeal of New South Wales against the decision of the primary judge who dismissed his claim for damages for personal injury. The plaintiff had sued RPS Manidis Roberts Pty Ltd, the occupier of a building site, and UGL Engineering Pty Ltd trading as Energised Alliance, his employer, alleging negligence. The plaintiff claimed he sustained injuries when he slipped and fell while descending a partially constructed staircase from which formwork had not been entirely removed.

The central legal issue before the Court of Appeal was whether the primary judge had made an appellable error in assessing the evidence presented at trial. The plaintiff advanced a multitude of grounds of appeal, all of which challenged the primary judge's findings of fact and conclusions regarding the alleged negligence of the defendants and the plaintiff's own contribution to his fall.

The Court of Appeal, comprising Meagher, Gleeson, and Leeming JJA, considered the grounds of appeal and found no error in the primary judge's assessment of the evidence. The court was not persuaded that the plaintiff had established his case on the balance of probabilities. Consequently, the application to tender a report by Mr Burn dated 16 April 2014 was refused, and the appeal was dismissed. The cross-appeal was also dismissed, and the appellant was ordered to pay the respondents' costs.