On 23 October 2020, the Court of Appeal handed down its judgment in Coffs Harbour City Council v Polglase [2020] NSWCA 265. Wotton + Kearney acted for the State of NSW in its successful defence of the appeal proceedings.

The case confirms, for the purpose of a duty of care on a statutory authority, what matters is control and management rather than ownership or occupation. It also re-affirms there is a minimum threshold for warning signs to engage the s.5M defence.

In this article, Michael Fung and Greg Carruthers-Smith explain the implications of this decision for insurers.

Click below to read the full article.