SAINT-GOBAIN ABRASIVES PTY LTD v McPHERSON [2009] NSWCA 214

SAINT-GOBAIN ABRASIVES PTY LTD v McPHERSON [2009] NSWCA 214

Although the trial judge erred by not taking the appellant's quality control and statistical evidence into account when first assessing whether the plaintiff's account of the accident should be accepted, that error did not occasion a substantial wrong or miscarriage. The objective evidence did not make the plaintiff's and eyewitness's account inherently implausible or glaringly improbable, and the appellant's evidence left open the possibility that a rare defective disc could be released and disintegrate below its maximum design operating speed. The appellant also failed to prove on the balance of probabilities that the defect arose after the goods left its control or did not exist at the...

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
24 July 2009
Procedural Posture
Appeal in a Product Liability and Personal Injury Claim Under the Trade Practices Act 1974 (cth) / Appeal From District Court Judgment on Liability; Damages Ground Under the Civil Liability Act 2002 (nsw) Abandoned at the Hearing
Outcome
Appeal dismissed with costs.
Legal Topics
['weight and Sufficiency of Objective and Expert Evidence' 'statistical Evidence' "manufacturer's Liability for Defective Goods" 'merchantable Quality' 'statutory Defences' 'federal Jurisdiction and Application of State Laws']
['evidence' 'civil Procedure' 'trade Practices' 'consumer Protection' 'product Liability' 'federal Jurisdiction'] ['weight and Sufficiency of Objective and Expert Evidence' 'statistical Evidence' "manufacturer's Liability for Defective Goods" 'merchantable Quality' 'statutory Defences' 'federal Jurisdiction and Application of State Laws']

Case Brief

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Procedural Posture

Appeal in a Product Liability and Personal Injury Claim Under the Trade Practices Act 1974 (cth) / Appeal From District Court Judgment on Liability; Damages Ground Under the Civil Liability Act 2002 (nsw) Abandoned at the Hearing

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ["Whether objective and expert evidence adduced at trial rendered the plaintiff's evidence incapable of acceptance." 'Whether objective evidence adduced at trial compelled a conclusion that any defect in the disc arose after it left the control of the appellant or that the defect did not exist at the time of supply.' "Whether the trial judge's failure to take quality control and statistical evidence into account when assessing the plaintiff's account caused a substantial wrong or miscarriage."]

Ratio Decidendi

Although the trial judge erred by not taking the appellant's quality control and statistical evidence into account when first assessing whether the plaintiff's account of the accident should be accepted, that error did not occasion a substantial wrong or miscarriage. The objective evidence did not make the plaintiff's and eyewitness's account inherently implausible or glaringly improbable, and the appellant's evidence left open the possibility that a rare defective disc could be released and disintegrate below its maximum design operating speed. The appellant also failed to prove on the balance of probabilities that the defect arose after the goods left its control or did not exist at the...

Court Disposition

Appeal dismissed with costs.

Orders

  • ['Appeal dismissed with costs.']