The plaintiff brought a claim in the Melbourne Magistrates'
Court for the loss of his boat and trailer which were destroyed in
a fire at the defendant's workshop. The plaintiff had taken his
boat to the workshop to have a canopy and storm cover installed.
The defendant held no insurance cover for the loss.
The defendant, as a bailee of the boat and trailer, was required
to return them to the plaintiff at the end of the bailment. The
bailment relationship imposes a duty on the bailee to take
reasonable care of the bailor's (the plaintiff's) goods and
if they are damaged, the onus is on the bailee to prove they were
not negligent.
The plaintiff, who was self-represented, did not argue that the
defendant negligently allowed the boat and trailer to be damaged,
but rather that the defendant had failed to tell him that the boat
and trailer had been left at the defendant's workshop "at
his own risk". His position was that the defendant should have
told him that he was not
