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Judgment date
Case number
B19/2003
Before
Gleeson CJ, McHugh, Gummow, Kirby, Hayne, Callinan, Heydon JJ
Catchwords
Negligence – Duty of care - Where pure economic or financial loss - Whether engineer owed duty of care to subsequent owner of commercial premises - Salient features of relationship giving rise to duty - Vulnerability - Assumption of responsibility - Known reliance (or dependence) - Relevance of latent defects and structural defects.
Negligence – Duty of care - Where pure economic or financial loss - Whether engineer owed duty of care to subsequent owner of commercial premises - Construction of dwellings and construction of other buildings - Relevance of the contract with the original owner - Relevance of statutory protection.
Practice and procedure – Whether cause of action on agreed facts - Sufficiency of pleading - Limitations on determining separate questions.
Words and phrases – "salient features", "vulnerability", "assumption of responsibility", "known reliance (or dependence)", "construction of dwellings and construction of other buildings".
Home Building Act 1989 (NSW) – ss 18A-18G, 90-99.
House Contracts Guarantee Act 1987 (Vic) – ss 5-8.
Domestic Building Contracts Act 1995 (Vic) – ss 8-10. Building Work Contractors Act 1995 (SA), ss 32-35.
Building Act 1975 (Q) – ss 52-53.
Queensland Building Services Authority Act 1991 (Q) – ss 68-69, Sched 2.
Home Building Contracts Act 1991 (WA) – ss 25A-25D.
Housing Indemnity Act 1992 (Tas) – ss 7-9, 11-14.
Building Act 1972 (ACT) – ss 62, 64-65.