Business Law Assignment 2018: Potential Plaintiffs in Case of Negligence

2018
Business Law Assignment

QUESTION
I: ISSUE
Key issue:
Who are the potential plaintiffs in the case for whose losses Sam is liable for?
L: LAW
A party who suffered any loss due to the negligence of another party can hold him liable for
his/her damages and claim for compensation under the tort of negligence. Certain elements
must be fulfilled in order to claim damages based on negligence of a party. Firstly, the party
against whom a suit for negligence is filed must have a duty of care to maintain a standard
of care (Barker et al, 2012). The party who did not have a duty of care cannot be held liable
for negligent action. Furthermore, such duty must be breached by the defendant due to
failure to maintain a standard of care. Lastly, due to such failure, a party must suffer a loss
which is not too remote and caused due to the actions of the defendant. In order to
understand these elements, Donoghue v Stevenson (1932) AC 562 case can be evaluated. In
this case, the court provided an important judgement which provides provisions regarding
the implementation of the principle of negligence. The claimant, in this case, suffered a
personal injury due to the negligence of the defendant (CSU LAW504 Modules, 2018, Topic
3).
Due to failure to maintain a standard of care by the defendant, the drink of the claimant
included remains of a snail. The claimant demanded damages for the personal injury
suffered by him. The court provided a leading judgement in which it was held that the
defendant had a duty of care towards the safety of its customers. Such duty was breached
which caused damages to the claimant. Furthermore, the damages were not too remote
and caused directly due to the action of the defendant, thus, a suit for negligence was valid.
Section 5B (1) of the Civil Liability Act 2002 (NSW) provided the provision regarding
foreseeability of the risk based on which the party is required to take necessary steps in
order to prevent such harm. Section 5B (2) of the act provides various provisions regarding
identifying whether the party breached a duty (CSU LAW504 Modules, 2018, Topic 3). It