LIMITATION DEFENCE TO FIRST APPELLANT'S CLAIM
64 As noted earlier, the first appellant's specification of damage did not include damage occurring prior to 1993.
65 In order to make out his case, the first appellant had the onus of proving some damage as alleged, and of proving that it was caused by breaches of duty established in the case. To make out his defence based on the Limitation Act in respect of the claim in tort, the respondent had the onus of proving that damage was in fact suffered from the relevant breach or breaches prior to the middle of 1990. He could do this either by showing that, if the first appellant suffered the damage claimed by the first appellant, then this must have involved damage suffered prior to mid-1990; or alternatively by proving that the first appellant did in fact suffer damage from the relevant breach or breaches prior to mid-1990.
66 Mr. Lindsay SC for the respondent submitted that the respondent did do this. He submitted that the first appellant always put his case on the basis that the whole of the loss was caused by entry into the joint venture in about early 1989, and made no attempt to separate out later damage caused by later breaches. In particular, he submitted, the first appellant claimed that in about early 1989 he entered into a disadvantageous joint venture, and gave up secure employment. This necessarily involved loss or damage, particularly where on the first appellant's case the joint venture had no settled terms, was induced by misrepresentation, was liable to be set aside, and did not have the backing of a substantial legal practice as the respondent allegedly had represented. Mr. Lindsay also submitted that by early 1989 the first appellant's house had been mortgaged to secure the debts of the business.
67 In my opinion, there is force in these submissions, but they are far from conclusive; and for reasons I will give, I am not satisfied that the primary judge's conclusion on the limitation defence was correct.
68 It is true that the first appellant's case for damages depended upon an assertion that he would not have entered into the joint venture at all but for various breaches of duty by the respondent; but that does not show that entry into the joint venture was at the time of its occurrence a loss sounding in damages. If it had been shown that the true value of what the first appellant obtained in early 1989, assessed as at that time, was less than the true value of what the first appellant gave up, assessed at that time, then this would be such a loss: but that question was not addressed by the evidence and not considered by the primary judge; and in my opinion the available material is insufficient for this Court to address the question and come to any conclusion on it. In all probability, it would require an assessment of competing commercial chances, viewed as at early 1989.
69 It would appear that the joint venture may have been of less value to the first appellant than it would have been if it had been properly documented, if there had been the backing of a substantial legal practice, and if the respondent had negotiated a more secure distribution agreement; and these matters would be directly relevant to a cause of action based on contract or a cause of action which in some other way made the respondent liable for respects in which what the first appellant obtained did not measure up to what he would have obtained if the respondent had fulfilled his commitments. However, they are less directly relevant to the tort measure of damages which, on the way the first appellant put his case, required an overall comparison between the first appellant's situation if he had not entered into the venture at all, with his situation which actually arose when he did enter into the venture.
70 On the question whether giving up secure employment was itself a loss or damage, I note first that it was not shown that the real benefits received by the first appellant from the new arrangement were less than the benefits from the secure employment, prior to about 1993. In those circumstances, I think the question of whether giving up secure employment amounted to loss or damage depends upon the type of general comparison to which I have referred previously.
71 The mortgaging of the first appellant's house to give security for debts of the business could be a relevant loss or detriment: see Forster v. Outred & Co [1982] 1 WLR 86, discussed but not disapproved by the High Court of Australia in Wardley Australia Limited v. Western Australia (1992) 175 CLR 514. However, this was not relied on before Dowd J; and even if it had been, in my opinion the better view is that this too would need to be taken into account in an overall comparison of the type to which I have referred, rather than considered in isolation. As I will attempt to show, I think this follows from an analysis of Wardley and Forster, particularly having regard to principles discussed in Sellars v. Adelaide Petroleum (1994) 179 CLR 332.
72 I accept that, if one can point to an actual loss of money or property, or a non-receipt of money or property, or damage to property, or to some physical or psychological injury, it is not possible to say that no loss or damage has occurred simply because of the possibility that the plaintiff has obtained some countervailing advantage. But it is at least strongly arguable, as a matter of mixed fact and law, that nothing like this occurred in this case until about 1993; so that the defendant's claim that, if the plaintiffs suffered damage at all from breaches of duty occurring around the time of entry into the joint venture agreement, it must have involved loss or damage suffered at that time, must depend upon a global comparison of the type to which I have referred. As mentioned earlier, that global comparison was not undertaken below, and the material does not enable this Court to undertake it.
73 It remains on this question to state briefly how I see the above propositions resulting from the decisions in Wardley and Forster and Sellars.
74 Wardley established that a person granting an indemnity, under which he or she is obliged to make a payment when the loss of the party to be indemnified is ascertained and quantified, suffers no actual loss until this contingency is fulfilled; so that a cause of action for purely economic loss, dependent upon damage being caused by the granting of the indemnity, does not arise until that contingency occurs. However, during the discussion of this question at 175 CLR 527-533, the majority of the High Court did not disapprove of Forster v. Outred, where it was held that a plaintiff suffered actual loss, not merely prospective loss, when, on negligent advice from her solicitors, she executed a mortgage over her property to secure debts of her son. Their Honours explained this case by reference to the immediate effect of the mortgage on the value of the plaintiff's property, which had previously been free from encumbrances.
75 Sellars decided that loss or damage may be established by demonstrating the loss of a commercial opportunity which had some value, not being a negligible value, this value being ascertained by reference to degrees of probabilities or possibilities: see 179 CLR at 355.
76 Thus it would seem that, if one can characterise an economic disadvantage suffered by a plaintiff as involving the loss of a commercial opportunity which has some value, then that will be enough to constitute actual damage and to complete a cause of action (Sellars). However, if the economic disadvantage is no more than a contingency for future loss, then, unless and until the contingency occurs, there is no damage and no cause of action (Wardley). If one has a mortgage encumbering a property which was previously unencumbered, in isolation, then the effect of the mortgage on the value of the property will constitute immediate loss (Forster). However, if that encumbrance is part of an overall arrangement with some benefits as well as burdens, then in my opinion the matter has to be approached applying the principles derived from Sellars and Wardley.
77 My views on this principal question means that it is not absolutely necessary for me to deal with other matters arising in relation to this issue; but I will do so briefly.
78 First, there is the question whether different considerations apply to the first appellant's claim for psychological injury. There is authority that there are distinct causes of action for personal injuries and property damage arising out of the same negligent act of a defendant: see Brunsden v. Humphrey (1884) 14 QBD 141, Marlborough Harbour Board v. Chartered Travel Co. Limited (1989) 18 NSWLR 223. However, I do not think that would apply in a case such as the present, where it is alleged that the personal injury itself was occasioned through the commercial loss: cf Avenhouse v. Hornsby Shire Council (1988) 44 NSWLR 1. That is, there is in this case no allegation of a duty to protect or preserve the first appellant from mental or physical injury: the duties alleged are essentially to protect the first appellant from commercial harm. Accordingly, subject to what I say next, the claim for psychological injury would be barred if the claim for commercial loss is barred.
79 There is however the question of whether, in relation to this part of the first appellant's claim, an extension might have been sought under Schedule 5 and s.60G of the Limitation Act. It seems to me arguable that an action claiming personal injuries occasioned by commercial loss, if otherwise maintainable, may fall within s.60G as a cause of action founded on breach of duty for damages for personal injury. No application under s.60G was in fact made in this case. Such an application should have been made or foreshadowed, at the latest, on 28th February 2000; but the failure to make such application can reasonably be regarded as in part due to the respondent's belated application to add the Limitation Act defence.
80 Much the same comments apply in relation to the first appellant's attempt to rely on fraudulent concealment. If this was to be relied on, notice of this should have been given, at the latest, on 28th February 2000; but again, one may reasonably regard the failure to do so as caused in part by the respondent's belated application to rely on the Limitation Act.
81 In relation to the application of the Limitation Act to a cause of action for damages or compensation for breach of fiduciary duty, it would appear that s.23 means that the six year limitation period does not apply, except by analogy. Williams v. Minister, Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1983 (1994) 35 NSWLR 497 could be seen as authority for at least the proposition that the six year limitation should not automatically be applied to such a claim, and that it is necessary to consider factors relevant to the aptness of the analogy. One matter that might be relevant here is that the extension provided by s.55 of the Limitation Act for fraudulent concealment would not directly apply to such a claim, because in relation to such a claim there is no "limitation period fixed by or under this Act" within the meaning of s.55(1): it might be that considerations relating to the appropriateness of applying the six year limitation by analogy would include matters which would go to fraudulent concealment of a claim to which the Limitation Act does apply. If that were so, then the absence of a reply might not be fatal to reliance on facts amounting to fraudulent concealment in relation to the equitable claims. The view of Deane J in Hawkins v. Clayton (1988) 164 CLR 539 at 589 might also have some bearing on this question. Although I am far from satisfied that it would not be appropriate to apply a six year period by analogy, I do not think this issue was adequately addressed by the primary judge.
82 Finally on this topic, there was a submission by the first appellant that the primary judge should have considered whether there were causes of action arising after mid-1990 due to breaches occurring after that date or breaches in respect of which damage first occurred after that date. In my opinion, it would have been a denial of natural justice to the respondent in this case to have made a finding against the respondent on any such basis, in circumstances where a claim on that basis had not been formulated with any clarity by the first appellant. A plaintiff must put a claim in some reasonably clear way before a court can give effect to it, because otherwise the defendant cannot adequately respond to it and a court would deny the defendant natural justice if it gave effect to such a claim. It is not enough to include in a global claim for damages some items of damage that might be held referable to particular breaches occurring within the limitation period. In my opinion, the circumstance that the allegations of breach of duty in this case included allegations of breaches in relation to the White and Vesaro mortgages and the Roden transaction, and the list of damage included items relating to those transactions, did not amount to a sufficiently clear formulation of a distinct claim arising within the limitation period.
83 However, I note that the primary judge did feel that the conduct of the case made it appropriate that the first appellant be given an opportunity to clarify such a claim; but he did so at a time and in circumstances where the first appellant could reasonably feel that to do so would result in further unacceptable delay. The limitation question was argued at the hearing and in written submissions shortly thereafter, so in my opinion the invitation should have been given, if at all, at that time and not in December 2000 and/or April 2001. Thus, the failure to consider distinct claims arising since mid-1990, although it may not of itself have justified a new trial, does add some weight to the need for a new trial.