Woolcock Street Investments Pty Ltd v CDG Pty Ltd

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.