Kuperman v Permanent Trustee Australia Limited
[2023] QCA 54 · Mullins P, Dalton JA and Bradley J
The plaintiff was injured in 1995 when she slipped on wet tiles on a walkway from the carpark at a Brisbane shopping centre. She started a court claim for her injuries in 1998, but after 2002 she took no steps to move the case forward for more than 19 years, even though she was actively involved as a party in dozens of other court cases during that time. In 2022 she applied for permission to continue the old claim, and the shopping centre owner asked the court to dismiss it for inactivity. The District Court refused permission and dismissed the claim, finding the long delay was unexplained and had unfairly prejudiced the defendant (witnesses and records could no longer be found). On appeal, the Court of Appeal agreed with the lower court and dismissed her appeal with costs. The result is that her injury claim is permanently at an end and cannot proceed.
Incident & injury
Slip on wet tiles on a walkway from the carpark at the shopping centre
- Incident date
- 14 February 1995
- Location
- Toowong Village Shopping Centre, Toowong
Quick facts
- Date of judgment
- 28 March 2023
- Claim type
- PIPA Public Liability
- Proceeding
- Appeal
- Plaintiff outcome
- Unsuccessful
- Occupation
- Not stated
- Liability
- Disputed
Outcome
The Court of Appeal dismissed the plaintiff's appeal against the District Court's refusal of leave to proceed and dismissal of her personal injury proceeding for want of prosecution. The proceeding, commenced in 1998 over a 1995 slip-and-fall, had been left dormant for over 19 years, and the primary judge's discretion to refuse leave had not miscarried.
Key issues
Kuperman v Permanent Trustee Australia Limited [2023] QCA 54
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