Cullen v. State of New South Wales

Lower Court Judgment

20/12/2024 Supreme Court of New South Wales (Court of Appeal) (Gleeson and Kirk JJA, White JA)

[2024] NSWCA 310

Catchwords

Negligence – Duty of care – Public authorities – Injury – Bystander – Whether police officers owe duty to take reasonable care to avoid risk of harm to class of persons in immediate vicinity of operational response during protest march – Risk of harm in police actions inflicting physical injury on identified class of persons – s 43A of Civil Liability Act 2002 (NSW) – Breach – Whether regard to be had to police obligations to take actions to prevent breaches of the peace even in crowded situations – Causation – Whether conduct of the officers was causative of the harm suffered by the appellant – Whether beyond the scope of the respondent's legal liability under s 5D(1)(b) of the Civil Liability Act 2002 (NSW).