Torts – Negligence - Duty of care - Operator of hotel and liquor licensee - Intoxicated patron died in road accident after leaving hotel on motorcycle - Where patron and licensee agreed motorcycle and its keys should be held by licensee and patron's wife called when patron ready to leave - Patron refused licensee's offer to call wife to collect patron as arranged and requested keys - Whether licensee had duty to take reasonable care to prevent intoxicated patron from riding motorcycle from hotel - Whether an exceptional case.
Torts – Negligence - Breach - Whether alleged duty required licensee to call wife - Whether alleged duty discharged by offer to call wife.
Torts – Negligence - Causation - Whether calling wife would have prevented death - Whether on balance of probabilities wife would have received and responded to call in time.
Words and phrases – "balance of probabilities", "an exceptional case".
Criminal Code (Tas) – ss 43, 45.
Liquor and Accommodation Act 1990 (Tas) – ss 62, 78, 79, 79A, 80.
Road Safety (Alcohol and Drugs) Act 1970 (Tas) – ss 4, 5(1).
Traffic Act 1925 (Tas) – s 41A.
Judgment date
Case number
H7/2009
H8/2009
Before
French CJ, Gummow, Hayne, Heydon, Crennan JJ
Catchwords