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Injury Liability Gazette
Case Note
Dillon v Hair
[2014] NSWCA 80
Occupier’s Liability
Where an owner of residential premises was found liable for injuries sustained by an
entrant when she slipped and fell on an mat inside the entrance.
The facts
Margaret Hair (
plaintiff
), a property manager, was
conducting a handover inspection at a residential
property on 21 May 2010 when she slipped on a mat
inside the front entrance and sustained a fractured
knee. The property was owned by Harry and Jann
Dillon (
owners
) and had been leased to Emma Munro
(
tenant
) for around two years.
The incident occurred on the last day of the tenant’s
lease. By that time the tenant was no longer residing
at the property, though some of her possessions still
remained on the premises. In the four years prior to
the incident (and for the entire period the tenant was
residing at the premises), the mat in question had
been placed on the patio which had untreated and
rough timber flooring.
Prior to the final handover inspection, the owners
moved the mat inside the front entrance where the
flooring consisted of polished sealed floorboards.
At the time of the incident, the floor had just been
thoroughly cleaned by the tenant and was described
to be in ‘
very good condition
’.
The plaintiff brought proceedings against the owner
and the tenant in the District Court of New South
Wales.
District Court decision
The mat had been thrown out by the time proceedings
were instituted and was not available for expert testing.
Mr Dillon alleged he had thrown out the mat when he
became aware of the plaintiff’s fall because he did not
want it to cause any further problems, notwithstanding
his view that there was nothing wrong with the mat. The
trial judge considered his evidence lacked credibility
and he had thrown out the mat to avoid responsibility
for the incident.
At trial, the tenant gave evidence that the mat was
most likely synthetic with a ‘
slightly textured ‘felty’
surface on top and a slightly more ‘plasticy or rubbery’
surface on the underside
’. She stated she distinctly
recalls the mat felt firm and safe underfoot while it was
placed outside, and it did not move at all under her foot
when she stepped on it. However, she acknowledged
that the floor surfaces of the patio and the interior of
the house were very different.
