By Jeff Kelly, Editor
Welcome to the final edition of legal directions for the 2009 calendar year.
This edition includes:
Personal injury: Do publicans owe a duty to prevent harm to drunken patrons going home?
By Judith Waldock
In the February 2009 edition of Legal Directions, Emily Daffy and
Shantini Minjoot discussed a decision of the Tasmanian Full Court
which, as they foreshadowed, attracted the interest of the High
Court.
Licensee not liable for patrons being shot
By Lupe Ortega
In this decision handed down last month, the High Court held that
the licensee of a restaurant was not liable for injuries to its
patrons arising from the criminal conduct of a third party, in
circumstances in which there was no action the licensee could have
taken which would, on the balance of probabilities, have prevented
that conduct.
High Court confirms 'other insurance' clauses void only where the insured is a contracting party to the other insurance
By Stephen George
In the March 2009 edition of Legal Directions, we reported on the
decision of the Western Australian Court of Appeal in the above
case. Parts of the Court of Appeal's decision have now been
appealed to the High Court which delivered its judgment on 2
December 2009. The decision of the Court of Appeal has been upheld
with the High Court finding that 'other insurance' clauses
are void only where the insured is a party to the other insurance
contract and that parts of an 'other insurance' clause
which do not have this effect remain valid.
Double insurance and common liability
By Ritsa Balfoort
The Victorian Supreme Court has recently revisited the complexities
of double insurance, deciding that the time at which the existence
of double insurance is to be considered is whether or not a common
liability existed at the time of the relevant occurrence.
Vicissitudes for future domestic assistance?
By Charles Williams
In this case the NSW Court of Appeal had to deal with the interplay
between the provision of gratuitous domestic assistance and the
claimed need for assistance on a commercial basis into the future.
Of interest, the provision of past gratuitous assistance may not
immediately convert to damages for the cost of commercial services
post dating the trial.
Insurer not liable for insured's defence costs
By Ritsa Balfoort
This case highlights that the paramount consideration in
determining whether a claim falls within the terms of a policy is
the nature and not the form of the claim.
Moray & Agnew Bolsters Northern Horizons
Moray & Agnew continues to ramp up its thriving national insurance practice securing high-ranking insurance law experts, Anthony Henley and Alison Ryder in its Brisbane office. Henley and Ryder join the firm as partners and bring their team of four including senior associates Christine Houston, Nicola Ellis, Jordan Farr and lawyer Erin Irvine.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
