Zebra Stoneworks Pty Ltd v Ferreira

Zebra Stoneworks Pty Ltd appealed to the Court of Appeal of New South Wales against a determination made in favour of Mr Ferreira concerning his entitlement to worker's compensation. The central dispute revolved around whether Mr Ferreira was a "worker" or a "deemed worker" for the purposes of the relevant legislation.

The primary legal issue before the Court of Appeal was whether Zebra Stoneworks Pty Ltd should have been permitted to raise further issues and adduce further evidence beyond the sole question of Mr Ferreira's worker status. This arose despite the parties having previously agreed in their pleadings that this was the only issue to be determined, and the appellant having abandoned its further grounds of appeal during oral argument.

The Court of Appeal held that the appellant was rightly precluded from raising the abandoned issues. The court reasoned that the parties' agreement in the application and answer, coupled with the appellant's abandonment of further grounds in open court, constituted a tacit admission of the respondent's allegations on those abandoned issues. The appellant had not sought leave to withdraw these admissions, and therefore, the court found no error in the trial judge's decision to limit the proceedings to the agreed sole issue.

The appeal was dismissed, and Zebra Stoneworks Pty Ltd was ordered to pay the respondent's costs of the appeal.