Mitchell Morgan Nominees Pty Limited v Vella [2011] NSWCA
390
In our March 2012 update, we reported on the New South Wales
Court of Appeal's decision in Mitchell Morgan Nominees Pty
Limited v Vella [2011] NSWCA 390
(Vella), in which the Court of Appeal
clarified the operation of the proportionate liability regime
pursuant to Part 4 of the Civil Liability Act 2002 (NSW)
(CLA). For the facts of that case, please
see our previous article.
In its decision, the Court of Appeal considered that, for the
proportionate liability provisions of the CLA to apply in an
apportionable claim, the concurrent wrongdoers must have caused the
same loss or damage, with Giles JA distinguishing between
"damage" and "damages". The court held that the
actions of the fraudsters did not contribute to the same loss and
damage as the negligent actions of the solicitors in preparing the
mortgage documents. Hence they were not concurrent wrongdoers.
