[2000] HCA 41
Australian Securities and Investments Commission v King [2020] HCA 4
94 ALJR 293
Avenhouse v Hornsby Shire Council (1998) 46 NSWLR 1
AVS Group of Companies Pty Ltd v Commissioner of Police (2010) 78 NSWLR 302
[2010] NSWCA 81
Barangaroo Delivery Authority v Lend Lease (Millers Point) Pty Ltd [2014] NSWCA 279
Baumer v The Queen (1988) 166 CLR 51
[1988] HCA 67
Birmingham City Council v Walker [2007] 2 AC 262
Source
Original judgment source is linked above.
Catchwords
[2000] HCA 41
Australian Securities and Investments Commission v King [2020] HCA 494 ALJR 293
Avenhouse v Hornsby Shire Council (1998) 46 NSWLR 1
AVS Group of Companies Pty Ltd v Commissioner of Police (2010) 78 NSWLR 302[2010] NSWCA 81
Barangaroo Delivery Authority v Lend Lease (Millers Point) Pty Ltd [2014] NSWCA 279
Baumer v The Queen (1988) 166 CLR 51[1988] HCA 67
Birmingham City Council v Walker [2007] 2 AC 262[2007] UKHL 22
British Amusement Catering Trades Association v Westminster city Council [1988] 2 WLR 485
Brown v Brook (1971) 125 CLR 275[2011] FCAFC 154
Fallas v Mourlas (2006) 65 NSWLR 418[2006] NSWCA 32
Falvo v Australian Oztag Sports Association [2006] NSWCA 17
Favelle Mort Ltd v Murray (1976) 133 CLR 580[1976] HCA 13
Goode v Angland (2017) 96 NSWLR 503[2014] FCAFC 2
Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs v Stringer [2009] UKHL 31[2009] 4 All ER 1205
Independent Commission Against Corruption v Cunneen (2015) 256 CLR 1[2015] HCA 14
Kempsey Shire Council v Five Star Medical Centre Pty Ltd (2018) 99 NSWLR 98[2005] 4 All ER 107
Manly Council v Malouf t/as Fusion Point (2004) 61 NSWLR 394[2017] FCAFC 125
Minister for Immigration and Border Protection v WZAPN (2015) 254 CLR 610
[2015] HCA 22
Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs v Hu (1997) 79 FCR 309
Nau v Kemp & Associates Pty Ltd (2010) 77 NSWLR 687
[2010] NSWCA 164
Owners of the Ship "Shin Kobe Maru" v Empire Shipping Co Inc (1994) 181 CLR 404
[1994] HCA 54
Oxfordshire County Council v Oxford City Council [2006] 2 AC 674
[2006] UKHL 25
Perisher Blue Pty Ltd v Nair-Smith (2015) 90 NSWLR 1
[2015] NSWCA 90
Philipps v News Group Newspapers Ltd [2013] 1 AC 1
[2012] UKSC 28
Project Blue Sky Inc v Australian Broadcasting Authority (1998) 194 CLR 455
[1998] HCA 28
R v Johnston (1985) 38 SASR 582
Rennie Golledge Pty Ltd v Ballard (2012) 82 NSWLR 231
[2012] NSWCA 376
Roads and Traffic Authority of New South Wales v Dederer (2007) 234 CLR 330
[2007] HCA 42
Rogers v Whitaker (1992) 175 CLR 479
[1992] HCA 58
Rootes v Shelton (1967) 116 CLR 383
[1967] HCA 39
Secretary, Department of Home Affairs v CCA19 [2019] FCAFC 209
Streller v Albury City Council [2013] NSWCA 348
(2013) Aust Torts Rep 82-146
SZTVU v Minister for Home Affairs (2019) 268 FCR 497
[2019] FCAFC 30
Tempe Recreation (D.500215 and D.1000502) Reserve Trust v Sydney Water Corporation (2014) 88 NSWLR 449
[2014] NSWCA 437
The Council of the Shire of Wyong v Shirt (1980) 146 CLR 40
[1980] HCA 12
Thomas v State of New South Wales (2008) 74 NSWLR 34
[2002] HCA 9
YZ Finance Co Pty Ltd v Cummings (1964) 109 CLR 395
[1964] HCA 12
Wicks v State Rail Authority of New South Wales (2010) 241 CLR 60
Judgment (26 paragraphs)
[1]
Heffernan v Comcare (2014) 218 FCR 1; [2014] FCAFC 2
Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs v Stringer [2009] UKHL 31; [2009] 4 All ER 1205
Independent Commission Against Corruption v Cunneen (2015) 256 CLR 1; [2015] HCA 14
Kempsey Shire Council v Five Star Medical Centre Pty Ltd (2018) 99 NSWLR 98; [2018] NSWCA 308
Letang v Ottawa Electric Railway Co [1926] AC 725
Liverpool Catholic Club Ltd v Moor [2014] NSWCA 394
MacDonald (Inspector of Taxes) v Dextra Accessories Ltd [2005] UKHL 47; [2005] 4 All ER 107
Manly Council v Malouf t/as Fusion Point (2004) 61 NSWLR 394; [2004] NSWCA 299
McKenna v Hunter & New England Local Health District [2013] NSWCA 476
Menz v Wagga Wagga Show Society Inc [2020] NSWCA 65
Minister for Immigration and Border Protection v ARJ17 (2017) 250 FCR 474; [2017] FCAFC 125
Minister for Immigration and Border Protection v WZAPN (2015) 254 CLR 610; [2015] HCA 22
Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs v Hu (1997) 79 FCR 309
Nau v Kemp & Associates Pty Ltd (2010) 77 NSWLR 687; [2010] NSWCA 164
Owners of the Ship "Shin Kobe Maru" v Empire Shipping Co Inc (1994) 181 CLR 404; [1994] HCA 54
Oxfordshire County Council v Oxford City Council [2006] 2 AC 674; [2006] UKHL 25
Perisher Blue Pty Ltd v Nair-Smith (2015) 90 NSWLR 1; [2015] NSWCA 90
Philipps v News Group Newspapers Ltd [2013] 1 AC 1; [2012] UKSC 28
Project Blue Sky Inc v Australian Broadcasting Authority (1998) 194 CLR 455; [1998] HCA 28
R v Johnston (1985) 38 SASR 582
Rennie Golledge Pty Ltd v Ballard (2012) 82 NSWLR 231; [2012] NSWCA 376
Roads and Traffic Authority of New South Wales v Dederer (2007) 234 CLR 330; [2007] HCA 42
Rogers v Whitaker (1992) 175 CLR 479; [1992] HCA 58
Rootes v Shelton (1967) 116 CLR 383; [1967] HCA 39
Secretary, Department of Home Affairs v CCA19 [2019] FCAFC 209
Streller v Albury City Council [2013] NSWCA 348; (2013) Aust Torts Rep 82-146
SZTVU v Minister for Home Affairs (2019) 268 FCR 497; [2019] FCAFC 30
Tempe Recreation (D.500215 and D.1000502) Reserve Trust v Sydney Water Corporation (2014) 88 NSWLR 449; [2014] NSWCA 437
The Council of the Shire of Wyong v Shirt (1980) 146 CLR 40; [1980] HCA 12
Thomas v State of New South Wales (2008) 74 NSWLR 34; [2008] NSWCA 316
Tovir Investments Pty Ltd v Waverley Council [2014] NSWCA 379
UG Insurances Pty Ltd v Commissioner of Stamp Duties (NSW) (1973) 128 CLR 353; [1973] HCA 31
UNSW Global Pty Ltd v Chief Commissioner of State Revenue [2016] NSWSC 1852
Wacal Developments Pty Ltd v Realty Developments Pty Ltd (1978) 140 CLR 503; [1978] HCA 30
Woods v Multi-Sport Holdings Pty Ltd (2002) 208 CLR 460; [2002] HCA 9
YZ Finance Co Pty Ltd v Cummings (1964) 109 CLR 395; [1964] HCA 12
Wicks v State Rail Authority of New South Wales (2010) 241 CLR 60; [2010] HCA 22
Texts Cited: Australian Rules of Racing (1 August 2012), r 137(a)
D Bailey and L Norbury, Bennion on Statutory Interpretation (LexisNexis, 7th ed 2017)
Commonwealth of Australia, Review of the Law of Negligence - Final Report (September 2002)
A Grabiner, "The iterative process of contractual interpretation" (2012) 128 LQR 41
P Herzfeld and T Prince, Interpretation (2nd ed, Thompson Reuters, 2020)
Category: Principal judgment
Parties: Hari Singh by his next friend Ambu Kanwar (Appellant)
Glenn Lynch (Respondent)
Representation: Counsel:
Dr C Ward SC / Mr D Stanton (Appellant)
Mr J Sexton SC / Mr D Lloyd (Respondent)
[2]
Solicitors:
Morgan & English (Appellant)
Moray & Agnew Lawyers (Respondent)
File Number(s): 2019/356885
Decision under appeal Court or tribunal: Supreme Court
Jurisdiction: Common Law
Citation: [2019] NSWSC 1403
Date of Decision: 18 October 2019
Before: Fagan J
File Number(s): 2015/205553
[3]
[Note: The Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005 provide (Rule 36.11) that unless the Court otherwise orders, a judgment or order is taken to be entered when it is recorded in the Court's computerised court record system. Setting aside and variation of judgments or orders is dealt with by Rules 36.15, 36.16, 36.17 and 36.18. Parties should in particular note the time limit of fourteen days in Rule 36.16.]
[4]
HEADNOTE
[This headnote is not to be read as part of the judgment]
The appellant, Hari Singh, was a professional jockey. In August 2012 he was seriously injured when his horse fell during a race meeting at the Tamworth Racecourse. The fall was caused by the respondent, Glenn Lynch, riding his horse so as to push the horse alongside him into the path of the appellant's horse. The appellant sued the respondent in negligence. Fagan J dismissed the proceedings, because (i) the respondent did not breach his duty of care to the appellant, and (ii) his injury was caused by the materialisation of an obvious risk which arose in the course of a dangerous recreational activity. That being the case, s 5L of the Civil Liability Act 2002 (NSW) (Civil Liability Act) conferred immunity on the respondent from liability in negligence.
On appeal, the appellant challenged the finding that the respondent, who had been found guilty of careless riding by the Stewards, was not negligent. With respect to the engagement of s 5L, he argued that (i) dangerous riding by the respondent in breach of the rules of racing did not constitute an "obvious risk"; and (ii) his involvement in the race as a professional jockey did not constitute participation in a "recreational activity". The latter argument involved a challenge to Goode v Angland (2017) 96 NSWLR 503; [2017] NSWCA 311.
Rule 137(a) of the Australian Rules of Racing, of which the respondent was found guilty, provided a penalty to riders in horse races of "careless, improper, incompetent or foul riding". The evidence at trial was that this provision was commonly breached by jockeys. The Australian Rules of Racing also required (r 135) jockeys to ride as competitively as possible.
The principal issues on appeal were:
(1) the correctness of the finding in Goode v Angland that professional horse racing is a dangerous recreational activity;
(2) whether the appellant's injury was the result of the materialisation of an obvious risk which occurred in the course of a dangerous recreational activity, and
(3) whether the respondent breached the duty of care owed to other participants in the race.
The Court (Basten, Leeming and Payne JJA) dismissed the appeal (McCallum JA and Simpson AJA dissenting) and held:
In relation to (1):
Goode v Angland correctly construed ss 5K and 5L of the Civil Liability Act: [43], [132], [142], [188]-[193]. Neither the language nor the structure of the statute, nor the legislative history, provide a basis for excluding professionals involved in a sporting activity from the exemption from liability provided by s 5L: [29], [141], [142], [189].
Agar v Hyde (2000) 201 CLR 552; [2000] HCA 41; Letang v Ottawa Electric Railway Co [1926] AC 725; Commonwealth of Australia, Review of the Law of Negligence - Final Report (September 2002) discussed.
[5]
Judgment
BASTEN JA: The appellant, Hari Singh, was a professional jockey. In August 2012 he was seriously injured when his horse fell during a race meeting at the Tamworth Racecourse. The fall was caused by the defendant, Glenn Lynch, riding his horse so as to push the horse alongside him into the path of the appellant's horse. The appellant sued the respondent in negligence. Following a trial in the Common Law Division, Fagan J dismissed the proceedings, giving judgment for the respondent. [1] The proceedings failed because the judge found that the respondent did not breach his duty of care to the appellant, but primarily because his injury was the result of the materialisation of an obvious risk which occurred in the course of a dangerous recreational activity. That being the case, s 5L of the Civil Liability Act 2002 (NSW) protected the respondent from liability in negligence.
In this Court, the appellant challenged the finding that the respondent, who had been found guilty of careless riding by the Stewards, was not negligent. With respect to the engagement of s 5L, he argued that (i) dangerous riding by the respondent in breach of the rules of racing did not constitute an "obvious risk"; and (ii) his involvement in the race as a professional jockey did not constitute participation in a "recreational activity". The latter argument involved a challenge to the recent decision of this Court in Goode v Angland [2] holding that participants in professional sport fell within the scope of "dangerous recreational activity" for the purposes of s 5L. For reasons explained below, the Court should not depart from the construction of the Civil Liability Act adopted in Goode v Angland. It is therefore unnecessary to decide whether the respondent breached his duty of care. However, on one view s 5L is not engaged unless a breach of duty is established; it is appropriate on that view to address the finding on breach, although a favourable outcome will not assist the appellant unless he can also avoid the application of s 5L.
[6]
Grounds of appeal
The notice of appeal purported to identify 13 separate grounds. However, with two points of explanation, they are all encompassed within the issues noted above.
The first point relates to grounds 1-7, which are primarily directed to the failure of the judge to accept that there had been a breach of the duty which arose under the general law, and applying s 5B of the Civil Liability Act. That qualification arose from the references in grounds 2 and 3 to the respondent riding his horse so as to cause "reckless or deliberate contact" with the horse which was pushed into the path of the appellant's horse. There was no doubt that the respondent deliberately caused his horse to come into contact with the horse alongside him, which suggested that the pleader had a claim in trespass in mind. However, the allegation of deliberately riding in such a manner as to collide with the second horse was identified in the statement of claim as a particular of a breach of duty in negligence. [3] The case in this Court was similarly run on the basis that the cause of action was negligence.
The second point concerns grounds 8-10 where, with significant elements of repetition, the appellant alleged error in the way in which the trial judge had formulated the nature of the risk of harm. The judge defined the risk as that of "the plaintiff's mount falling, bringing him to the ground and causing him injury." The appellant contended that the risk was "that another rider would deliberately ride [his] horse so as to cause abrupt, reckless or deliberate contact with an adjoining horse", conduct which fell outside the rules of racing. In fact the trial judge considered alternative formulations of the risk of harm, concluding that even were the appellant's preferred characterisation of the risk to be adopted, it would still constitute an "obvious risk" within the meaning of that term as defined in s 5F of the Civil Liability Act. However, the judge did not accept that the riding was reckless. These issues will be addressed in identifying the risk of harm for the purposes of s 5L.
[7]
Factual background
The primary facts may be concisely stated. Most were not in dispute and they are fully recorded in the judgment below. The factual disputes revolved around the inferences which might be drawn from the primary facts.
The accident occurred in the course of race 7 at the meeting organised by the Tamworth Jockey Club on 14 August 2012. The race was run over 1600m in a clockwise direction around the oval-shaped track. [4] The race was recorded by four cameras at fixed locations. The fall occurred as the horses were rounding the curve into the home straight. Distances were measured to the finishing post. The placement of the horses at the 420m mark was as follows: [5]
1. The respondent, on Darcey, was riding close to the rails with two horses alongside each other in front of him. On his outside was Decoree ridden by Gregory Ryan. The appellant on Blue Onyx was behind Decoree. The respondent was thus boxed in.
2. In an attempt to manoeuvre into a position in which he could challenge the leaders, the respondent "commenced to ride Darcey forward and out from the rail, shifting wider to contact Decoree (Mr Ryan) and then exerting pressure to move Decoree to her left." [6]
3. That level of contact was not criticised by the appellant. However, Mr Ryan resisted the pressure and kept Decoree on her line of travel. He also kept Decoree alongside Darcey, although, as they came out of the turn, Darcey was a head in front.
4. The respondent abruptly increased the pressure of his mount against Decoree and despite Mr Ryan having attempted to resist, Decoree was moved to her left.
5. The abrupt increase in pressure from Darcey caused Decoree's hindquarters to be displaced to the left. The rear of Decoree contacted Blue Onyx somewhere between the shoulder and flank and there was either an entanglement with Blue Onyx's legs or at least his stride was interrupted, causing him to blunder and fall.
The appellant's challenge to the legality of the respondent's conduct focused on the abrupt increase in pressure, referred to in places as a "bump", being conduct which was said to be outside the rules of racing.
The result of the appellant's fall was a closed head injury with serious and what appear to be permanent disabilities. Although not reflected in the title of the judgment in the Court below, the trial judge noted that the plaintiff's wife had acted as his tutor in the litigation. [7]
[8]
Statutory scheme
It may be accepted that the provisions of the Civil Liability Act do not directly address the nature of the duty of care which is required to engage the general law of liability in negligence. That is not to say there are no provisions which affect the duty; for example, s 32 imposes a necessary condition on a duty of care with respect to mental harm. Section 5H removes any duty of care with respect to warning of an obvious risk. Other provisions, including s 5L, impose limitations on liability in negligence. Such provisions operate against the background of the general law. If there is no general law duty of care, they will not operate. Indeed, on one view they assume a breach of duty and protect the defendant from the liability which would otherwise arise. [8] The operation of such provisions must be understood against the background of the general law. [9]
Section 5L, the operative provision relevant to the present case, reads as follows:
5L No liability for harm suffered from obvious risks of dangerous recreational activities
(1) A person (the defendant) is not liable in negligence for harm suffered by another person (the plaintiff) as a result of the materialisation of an obvious risk of a dangerous recreational activity engaged in by the plaintiff.
(2) This section applies whether or not the plaintiff was aware of the risk.
Section 5L appears in Div 5 of Pt 1A. Section 5K picks up the definition of "obvious risk" from Div 4. In Div 4, obvious risk is defined in the following terms:
5F Meaning of "obvious risk"
(1) For the purposes of this Division, an obvious risk to a person who suffers harm is a risk that, in the circumstances, would have been obvious to a reasonable person in the position of that person.
(2) Obvious risks include risks that are patent or a matter of common knowledge.
(3) A risk of something occurring can be an obvious risk even though it has a low probability of occurring.
(4) A risk can be an obvious risk even if the risk (or a condition or circumstance that gives rise to the risk) is not prominent, conspicuous or physically observable.
There is a second qualification to the operation of s 5L, namely that the obvious risk is that "of a dangerous recreational activity". The phrase "dangerous recreational activity" is defined in s 5K in terms which include reference to a "recreational activity". It is convenient to set out the whole of s 5K:
5K Definitions
In this Division -
dangerous recreational activity means a recreational activity that involves a significant risk of physical harm.
obvious risk has the same meaning as it has in Division 4.
recreational activity includes -
(a) any sport (whether or not the sport is an organised activity), and
(b) any pursuit or activity engaged in for enjoyment, relaxation or leisure, and
(c) any pursuit or activity engaged in at a place (such as a beach, park or other public open space) where people ordinarily engage in sport or in any pursuit or activity for enjoyment, relaxation or leisure.
[9]
(a) the statutory language - ordinary meaning
The argument in the present case turned on the definition of "recreational activity". The appellant submitted that that concept did not, in everyday usage, encompass professional sport. Rather, it was limited to activities voluntarily undertaken by persons for enjoyment, relaxation or leisure.
That submission may be accepted; however, the term recreational activity is not used in its everyday meaning, but is defined in the statute. Its ordinary everyday meaning is encompassed within par (b) of the definition. The three limbs of the definition are separate and cumulative in their operation. Paragraph (b) does not qualify or limit par (a); par (b) should not be construed to deprive par (a) of any separate or additional content. No example was provided in argument of a sport which does not constitute a pursuit or activity, although, as with any other leisure activity, a sport can be pursued for exercise or to hone skills. (That implies that any such purpose falls outside the purposes identified in par (b), which would be strange.) Accepting that there is a category of "professional sport" which is pursued (by the participants) as an occupation and a means to a livelihood, the statutory definition provides no basis for excluding such activities from the definition of recreational activity.
Further, par (c), which expands the definition to include pursuits or activities engaged in at a particular place, identifies the place by reference to engagement in sport or in any pursuit or activity within par (b). In other words, it envisages that pars (a) and (b) will have separate operations, absent which the disjunctive "or" would have no work to do.
The only basis for reliance on the ordinary meaning of recreational activity is that the definition is inclusive and not exhaustive. That approach raises a further question as to the purpose of the listing of particular activities said to fall within the defined term. Their purpose may be (i) merely to provide examples; (ii) to remove a doubt as to certain items, or (iii) to expand the ordinary meaning to include activities which would not otherwise be encompassed within it. [12] In many cases it will not be possible to distinguish between definitions which seek to resolve doubt as to the scope of the term defined and those which seek to expand its ordinary meaning. In the present case the effect of pars (a) and (c) is to expand the ordinary meaning. It is possible that the definition so provided is exhaustive (despite the use of the verb "includes") but it is not necessary to decide that: the appellant's case seeks to limit, not expand, the scope of the definition.
[10]
(b) extrinsic material
The appellant sought to rely upon the recommendations of the Commonwealth Panel's Final Report which preceded the enactment of the Civil Liability Act. [13] Having rejected a suggestion that there be a specific exemption from liability for not-for-profit organisations, the Final Report continued:
"4.11 The Panel is of the view, however, that a principled reason can be given for treating recreational activities and recreational services as a special category for the purposes of personal injury law, regardless of whether the provider of the service is an NPO or a for-profit organisation. The reason is that people who participate in such activities often do so voluntarily and wholly or predominantly for self-regarding reasons.
4.12 This is not always the case, of course. Members of schools and other institutions may be required to engage in sporting and other recreational activities. Also, people who participate in recreational activities in the course of their employment do not do so voluntarily in the relevant sense. The rationale for treating recreational services and activities as a special case does not apply to such persons. Therefore, any rule limiting liability in respect of recreational services should not apply to them."
The recommendation flowing from that statement was that "the provider of a recreational service is not liable for personal injury or death suffered by a voluntary participant in a recreational activity as a result of the materialisation of an obvious risk." [14] As noted by Ipp JA in Fallas v Mourlas, s 5K and s 5L "differ materially from [recommendations 11 and 12 of the Final Report] by not incorporating the element of voluntariness." [15] He nevertheless considered that those provisions reflected the rationale that "where the risks are obvious [the plaintiff] is to be regarded as having assumed those risks". [16] Whether the rationale survives the abandonment of voluntariness may be doubted.
The concept of voluntariness relied on in the Final Report appears to find its origin in the general law principle of exculpation known as "voluntary assumption of risk", and identified by the Latin maxim volenti non fit injuria. That concept was described by the Privy Council in Letang v Ottawa Electric Railway Co [17] in the following terms:
"If the defendants desire to succeed on the ground that the maxim volenti non fit injuria is applicable, they must obtain a finding of fact that the plaintiff freely and voluntarily, with full knowledge of the nature and extent of the risk he ran, impliedly agreed to incur it."
[11]
(c) reliance on the defined term
The appellant further submitted that "the ordinary meaning of recreation" must be given some work to do in the "overall construction of the section, such that persons engaging in any pursuit or activity engaged in at a place are caught by the definition of recreational activity, but only in so far as activities are [within the ordinary understanding of the defined term]". That approach was said to be consistent with the purpose of the legislation.
It may be noted that the term "recreational activities" is also to be found as the heading of Pt 1A, Div 5. Although the heading forms part of the Act [21] and may undoubtedly be relied upon to assist in identifying the purpose of the legislation, it is doubtful that it is to be given a different meaning from the definition of the same term in s 5K.
That aside, the appellant needed to confront the statement in The Owners of the Ship 'Shin Kobe Maru' v Empire Shipping Co Inc that: [22]
"The use of the word 'proprietary' in the term to be defined [proprietary maritime claim] does not colour the meaning to be given to the definition which follows it. It would be quite circular to construe the words of a definition by reference to the term defined."
It is true that a definitional provision has a special place within legislation. Nevertheless, as explained in Project Blue Sky Inc v Australian Broadcasting Authority: [23]
"The primary object of statutory construction is to construe the relevant provision so that it is consistent with the language and purpose of all the provisions of the statute."
That mandate is, of course, consistent with the requirement of s 33 of the Interpretation Act to prefer a construction that would promote the purpose or object underlying the Act to one which would not. Nevertheless, the purpose or object should not be derived extraneously, excluding consideration of the language of a critical provision (whether a defined term or not) and then applied to construe that provision. The correct approach is that set out in Independent Commission Against Corruption v Cunneen: [24]
"[35] … The best that can be done is to reason in terms of relative consistency - internal logical consistency and overall consistency in accordance with the principles of statutory interpretation adumbrated in Project Blue Sky - to determine which of the two competing constructions of [the term in question] is more harmonious overall."
[12]
(d) authority
This conclusion is consistent with that reached by the Court in Goode v Angland. The essential reasoning in relation to the operation of s 5L was provided by Leeming JA. In agreeing with his reasons, Beazley P observed, after referring to ss 5K, 5M and 5N:
"[174] … These provisions would appear to be directed to persons taking part in 'recreational' activities, as that term is commonly understood, and not to professional sportspeople who are either in employment or otherwise engage in the sport professionally for reward. It also seems incongruous that an activity undertaken as one's profession, trade or livelihood would be subject to the same legislative exclusion as an activity undertaken for enjoyment, relaxation or leisure, or for that matter, physical fitness or the acquisition of skill. However, I am persuaded for the reasons given by Leeming JA that that is the proper construction of, and therefore the effect of, s 5K and s 5L."
It may be noted that the element of incongruity referred to by the President was based on the common understanding of the term "recreational"; however, the proper construction of the statute turned on the definitions set out above.
Meagher JA also agreed with Leeming JA, adding an observation in relation to the limited scope of the exemption recommended in the Final Report, with respect to who is a provider of a recreational service. [25]
Leeming JA dealt with the submission that professional horse racing was not a recreational activity within the ordinary meaning of that term, observing that, "[t]he appellant's primary submission was that the legislation required a distinction to be drawn between sport undertaken for pleasure and sport undertaken as a profession." [26] After discussing the structure of the section and the first two limbs of the definition of recreational activity, Leeming JA continued:
"[194] The third limb of the definition focuses upon the location of the activity (at a place). It highlights some of the practical difficulties which accompany the appellant's construction. If the location of the activity is sufficient to engage s 5K, then how does the appellant's construction distinguish between professional and non-professional sportspeople at the same location?
[195] More generally, it is easy to contemplate sporting events in which some competitors participate for enjoyment or relaxation or leisure, but others do not. There must be some occasions when professionals, semi-professionals and amateurs compete simultaneously (for example, marathon running and some forms of car or motorbike racing). What of an elite high school or undergraduate rugby player who plays a game amongst professionals? It would seem most arbitrary in such a case if a player could be liable for injury negligently inflicted upon a professional but not upon the student. Constructions which yield improbable or capricious results are to be avoided on settled principles of statutory interpretation: Cooper Brookes (Wollongong) Pty Ltd v Commissioner of Taxation of the Commonwealth of Australia. [27]
[196] Further, the distinction between professional and non-professional is scarcely a crisp one. It is easy to contemplate competitors who receive some remuneration, and hope as their careers progress to be able to support themselves from their sport, but whose participation is predominantly for recreational purposes, and who would not be regarded as professional. Boxing may be one example, there are many others."
[13]
(a) characterisation of risk - principles
There remains a question as to the characterisation by the trial judge of the risk of harm for the purposes of s 5L. There was no dispute that horse-racing was a sport, nor that it was a dangerous recreational activity in the sense that it involved significant risks of physical harm. However, to engage the immunity from liability in s 5L, the respondent had to establish that the appellant's injuries resulted from the materialisation of an obvious risk, being a risk which would have been obvious to a reasonable person in the position of the appellant.
As explained in Fallas v Mourlas, [35] obviousness may depend on the level of generality or particularity at which the risk is identified. Fallas v Mourlas concerned an injury caused by one participant discharging a firearm and wounding another, both being engaged in the activity of spotlighting and shooting kangaroo at night. In considering what might constitute an "obvious risk", and speaking generally, Ipp JA stated:
"[51] In cases where the obvious risk is of being harmed by the conduct of a person (and not by physical features of the locale or other natural phenomena), for s 5L to become relevant the obvious risk must at least be of negligent conduct. Without negligence there could be no cause of action and no liability. Section 5L therefore may involve a plaintiff in certain circumstances having to accept the risk of another person being negligent. …
[52] Negligence comes in an infinite number of forms and the degrees of negligent conduct are infinite. The term 'gross negligence' is nowadays not often used but courts from time to time still consider its meaning and application …. It is sufficient, for the purposes of these reasons, to say that gross negligence is negligence to an extreme degree.
[53] It goes without saying that in certain circumstances the risk of a person being negligent (and causing harm) might be obvious, but in the same circumstances the risk of a person being grossly negligent (and causing harm) might not be obvious. I think it also goes without saying that while a person might accept the risk of harm caused by another's negligent conduct, that person is less likely to accept the risk of a person being grossly negligent.
[54] In my view, when considering whether there has been a materialisation of an obvious risk, a distinction may have to be drawn between a risk of negligent conduct on the part of another and conduct that is grossly negligent. In some circumstances, it may not be sufficient merely to ask whether the risk of harm caused by a person being negligent was obvious. If the conduct that caused the risk amounted to gross negligence, it would be necessary, in my opinion, to determine whether the risk of harm caused by gross negligence of the kind in question was obvious. Otherwise, if - for the purposes of s 5L - the 'risk of negligence' is to be regarded as a descriptive catch-all for the risks of any kind of careless conduct, no matter how extreme, harm caused by grossly negligent conduct could be held to be an obvious risk where in fact such a risk was not obvious at all.
[55] I would add that the question is not whether it was obvious that there was a risk that the very facts that did in fact materialise could materialise. Rather, it is whether there was an obvious risk that that kind of thing might materialise. That is consistent with the approach generally applicable to elements of the common law tort of negligence that in some respects are analogous."
[14]
(b) trial judge's characterisation of risk
At the time of the accident the Australian Rules of Racing included a rule in the following terms, known as AR 137(a):
"Any rider may be penalised if, in the opinion of the Stewards, he is guilty of careless, improper, incompetent or foul riding."
As the trial judge found, every year there are numerous contraventions of AR 137(a).
Further, as the judge noted, AR 135 was in the following terms:
"(a) Every horse shall be run on its merits.
(b) The rider of every horse shall take all reasonable and permissible measures throughout the race to ensure that his horse is given full opportunity to win or to obtain the best possible place in the field.
(c) Any person who in the opinion of the Stewards has breached, or was a party to breaching, any portion of this Rule may be penalised, and the horse concerned may be disqualified."
Taking these rules together, the trial judge found that, [46] a jockey is under pressure to ride as competitively as possible, to bring the best result from his or her horse; on the other hand, there are constraints on what are acceptable tactics, the precise detail of which is not defined in the rules, but is no doubt well understood by jockeys, as demonstrated by the expert evidence.
The trial judge identified the risk in two ways. His preferred characterisation was "the risk of his mount falling, bringing him to the ground and causing him injury." [47] An alternative characterisation was proposed by the appellant in the following terms: [48]
"[The] risk of harm that eventuated is a risk that another rider would deliberately ride [his] horse so as to cause reckless or deliberate contact with an adjoining horse, in circumstances where [the first] horse was 'boxed' or 'pocketed', in a manner that was plainly contrary to the rules of racing."
The judge accepted that the respondent deliberately rode Darcey so as to come into contact with the adjoining horse, namely Decoree, but he did not accept that the respondent was reckless in the manner in which he did that, nor that he was indifferent as to whether harm would result from his conduct. Rather, the judge was satisfied that the respondent's action was "careless riding contrary to the Australian Rules of Racing." [49] On the alternative characterisation, the judge treated the risk of harm as the risk that another jockey "would ride carelessly in breach of rule 137(a) by riding out from the rail, carrying another horse [Decoree] with him, thereby causing the second horse [Decoree] to intrude on the rightful running of the plaintiff's mount and bring him down, causing injury." [50]
[15]
(c) was the conduct of the respondent reckless or careless?
The basis of the judge's finding that the respondent's conduct (which has been described above) was careless rather than reckless was as follows:
"[75] The defendant carelessly rode his mount close up to the heels of Try to Please in circumstances where he would be dependent upon Decoree giving way to his left, in combination with Try to Please taking the home turn tightly. The evidence establishes that it is a common occurrence for the rider of an outside horse such as Darcey to try to hold a competitor in a pocket and also for horses such as the leaders in this race to fan out and turn wide onto the home straight. It is unsurprising that the defendant lost his gamble. Decoree held to her line and was not shifted wider by the initial moderate pressure from Darcey. Try to Please ran straight ahead for a few strides at the beginning of the home turn. Darcey remained boxed in, with Try to Please ahead and Decoree to the left.
[76] I find that in this situation the defendant had placed himself in a position where all the alternatives involved a risk of accident ….
[77] Fault for getting into this predicament lay with the defendant. He failed to allow for the capacity of the outside horse [to hold] him in and for the inclination of the leaders to take the turn wide. But I find no reason to doubt Mr Burnett's description of the Hobson's choice with which the defendant was then presented. He could try to pull his horse up and create the danger of clipping the heels of Try to Please, bringing one or both horses down and causing hazard to the followers. Alternatively he could push more heavily to the left to shift Decoree and establish a line for himself outside Try to Please, in the process potentially creating a danger for any horse running outside and behind Decoree, such as Blue Onyx.
…
[79] In mitigation of the defendant's riding at the critical time I take into account the following factors:
(1) the speed at which the horses were galloping;
(2) the close proximity of the horses to each other, which as far as the evidence shows is usual and acceptable;
(3) the expectation upon the jockeys that they would ride competitively;
(4) the extremely short timeframes, measured in fractions of a second, within which decisions had to be made by each rider and
(5) the inevitable and variable delay that must occur between a jockey's decision and the signal to and response of the horse."
[16]
(d) was the alternative characterisation of risk material?
Was the appellant's challenge to the judge's characterisation of the respondent's conduct as careless, but not reckless material to the outcome? If the conduct had been identified as reckless, it was submitted that the evidence did not establish that such conduct was an obvious risk in professional horse racing. However, that depended on whether there was error in the formulation of the alternative risk.
The passages from Fallas v Mourlas set out at [45] above were relied upon by the appellant in support of the more particular characterisation of the risk.
It may be accepted that, in some circumstances, formulating a risk at a high level of generality may achieve a different outcome in terms of obviousness, as compared with a more particular formulation. In such a case, the choice may be critical to the outcome. The difficulty is in determining the level of particularity.
The preferred approach is to recognise that the identification of an obvious risk is a matter to be undertaken prospectively and without the benefit of hindsight. [53] It therefore requires a level of generality as to the kind of risk involved, as recognised in Fallas at [55]. A high order of predictability is desirable because the practical consequence of s 5L is to identify the party who will need insurance and the nature of the risk against which insurance is required. Thus, if professional jockeys cannot sue each other for careless riding, they will need to carry insurance against the risk of injury to themselves; on the other hand, they will not need to insure against the risk of being sued by another jockey.
A prospective assessment of the obviousness of a risk should not reflect fine distinctions differentiating aspects of unsafe riding. It is clear from a consideration of the Rules of Racing that breaches are likely to be common in circumstances where jockeys are subject to obligations to ride competitively throughout and to maximise the opportunities for their horse, whilst not riding carelessly or improperly.
The appellant submitted that there was no evidence before the Court to demonstrate that reckless, as opposed to careless, riding was an obvious risk of horse racing. On the other hand, there was no evidence to suggest that such a distinction was relied upon in the industry to assess the level and nature of the risks involved. Rather, it is a circumstance which, as this case demonstrated, involves no clear set of standards, but rather imprecise language the application of which will remain contestable in many circumstances.
[17]
Breach of duty
Having disposed of the appellant's case on the basis that s 5L precluded liability for negligence, the trial judge turned finally to consider whether in fact there was negligence, dealing with breach of duty of care at [88]-[98]. Distinguishing between errors of judgment and breaches of duty, the judge concluded that the conduct of the respondent did not involve more than "a lapse of judgment under intense time pressure, in dynamic circumstances and where the defendant and all of the jockeys around him were under a professional obligation to race to win." [54]
That was a surprising conclusion having regard to the findings made earlier in the judgment in considering the application of s 5L. The appellant submitted that the judgment was internally inconsistent and that the failure to find breach of duty demonstrated error.
What appears to have been missing from consideration of breach was a statement of the content of the acknowledged duty of care. Such a consideration would have had regard to the kinds of conduct which could cause risks to the safety of other riders. These matters had been considered earlier in the judgment, particularly in identifying the requirements of r 137(a). Thus, the judge stated:
"[17] Amongst participants in horse racing it is understood that careless riding in breach of this rule may be constituted by the rider of an inside horse directing his mount to push heavily against an outside horse in an endeavour to force the latter to shift across the track. Contact and some pressure is permissible. …"
In considering the respondent's evidence the judge stated:
"[22] Significantly, in these answers the defendant acknowledged that the 'last part' of his application of pressure by Darcey against Decoree to 'take [her] with' him in shifting to the left was 'abrupt'. He accepted that it involved him riding Darcey to bump or bang Decoree, to push her wide. Both experts expressed the opinion, which I accept, that light side to side contact by the inside horse to encourage the outside horse to shift left is common practice and generally safe but heavy and/or abrupt contact capable of causing the outside horse to be shifted suddenly off its line of running is unsafe. Self-evidently it is particularly unsafe when the rider who brings the pressure to bear has not looked around to ensure that the horse to his left will not be pushed sharply into the path of another horse running behind and further off the rail."
[18]
Conclusion
The appeal should be dismissed; the appellant must pay the respondent's costs in this Court.
LEEMING JA: The Court was constituted by five Judges of Appeal in light of the appellant's application to re-argue the construction given to s 5K of the Civil Liability Act 2002 (NSW) in Goode v Angland (2017) 96 NSWLR 503; [2017] NSWCA 311. Sections 5K and 5L are as follows:
"5K Definitions
In this Division -
dangerous recreational activity means a recreational activity that involves a significant risk of physical harm.
obvious risk has the same meaning as it has in Division 4.
recreational activity includes -
(a) any sport (whether or not the sport is an organised activity), and
(b) any pursuit or activity engaged in for enjoyment, relaxation or leisure, and
(c) any pursuit or activity engaged in at a place (such as a beach, park or other public open space) where people ordinarily engage in sport or in any pursuit or activity for enjoyment, relaxation or leisure.
5L No liability for harm suffered from obvious risks of dangerous recreational activities
(1) A person (the defendant) is not liable in negligence for harm suffered by another person (the plaintiff) as a result of the materialisation of an obvious risk of a dangerous recreational activity engaged in by the plaintiff.
(2) This section applies whether or not the plaintiff was aware of the risk."
In Goode v Angland, both the Common Law Division and this Court held that professional horseracing was a sport which engaged the first limb of the definition of "recreational activity", rejecting the submission that the term applied only to activities engaged in for recreational purposes.
My reasoning (with which Beazley P and Meagher JA agreed) took the following form. It started with the text of the defined term, which comprises three disjunctive limbs, each commencing with "any": at [190]. The first limb, which included "any sport", was apt to preclude a construction whereby one subcategory of sports, namely, professional sports, was excluded (at [191]), while the words of generality "(whether or not the sport is an organised activity)" likewise told against a narrow approach to sports which fell within the first limb: at [192].
Turning to the second limb, if it were necessary in order to fall within the definition for an activity to be undertaken for a recreational purpose, then this second limb would amount to the entire content of the definition, contrary to principles telling against a construction which left most of an elaborate definition devoid of work: at [193].
[19]
Horseracing is a dangerous recreational activity
On the authority of Goode, by participating in horseracing the appellant engaged in a recreational activity. However, the appellant argued that Goode was wrongly decided, and that (professional) horseracing is not a recreational activity. It is necessary first to consider that argument.
In ordinary parlance, horseracing, even at the elite (and professional) level, is a sport. The appellant's argument however was that when what otherwise would be a sport is "participated in by professionals for taxable reward" it ceases to be a "sport" within the meaning of s 5K(a) and becomes a "professional activity". We do not accept that argument. Its underlying and unstated premise is that "sport" and "professional activity" are mutually exclusive. That premise is, in our opinion, false. As illustrated by Leeming JA in Goode, it is not possible to compartmentalise "sport" engaged in for purely "recreational" (for enjoyment, relaxation or leisure) purposes and "sport" engaged in for financial gain.
Paragraph (a) of s 5K does not, as does par (b), limit the "recreational activity" there defined to a pursuit or activity "engaged in for enjoyment, relaxation or leisure". On the plain language of par (a), any sport (whether or not an organised activity) comes within that paragraph, regardless of the purpose (or purposes) for which it is engaged in. Once it is accepted that an activity (such as horseracing) may be both a sport and a source of income it is unnecessary to go beyond par (a) of s 5K and consider the definitions contained in pars (b) and (c). While there are questions concerning the construction of par (c), those questions do not arise in this case.
The appellant advanced a construction of par (a) that limited its meaning by reference to "recreational". As Leeming JA has demonstrated, that approach should not be adopted.
We agree, for the reasons given by Leeming JA and Meagher JA and accepted by Beazley P in Goode, and further developed by Leeming JA in the present case, that horseracing is a sport within par (a) of s 5K and therefore a recreational activity. The first component of the defence provided by s 5L is satisfied.
It was not in issue that horseracing involves a significant risk of physical harm. That has the necessary consequence that horseracing is "a dangerous recreational activity". The second component of the s 5L defence is satisfied, as is the third, that the plaintiff suffered harm.
[20]
Materialisation of an obvious risk of horseracing
The remaining question raised by s 5L is whether the harm the appellant suffered was the result of the materialisation of an "obvious risk" of horseracing. That requires:
1. identification of the risk;
2. determination whether the risk, as identified, was "obvious"; and
3. determination whether the harm suffered by the appellant resulted from the materialisation of that risk.
[21]
Identification of the risk
In Menz v Wagga Wagga Show Society Inc [2020] NSWCA 65, after an in-depth analysis of s 5L, Leeming JA, with whom Payne and White JJA agreed, arrived at five propositions with respect to the application of s 5L, which may be summarised as follows:
1. the "obvious risk" is to be specified with "a degree of generality";
2. nevertheless, the specific risk must be sufficiently precise to capture the harm which results from its materialisation on the facts of the particular case;
3. the specification of the obvious risk involves both foresight (what, given the occurrence in which the harm is suffered, the plaintiff might reasonably be expected to have anticipated) and hindsight (determination of the causal connection);
4. a close causal connection between the harm suffered and the risk of harm of which (the defendant contends) the plaintiff ought to have known is required;
5. the proper characterisation of the risk is "fact dependent" and will turn on the evidence in any particular case in relation to two aspects:
1. "what occurred" and
2. "why the risk is said to be obvious" (at [70]-[74]).
Propositions (a) and (b) demonstrate that the exercise involves striking a balance between too broad and too narrow a specification of the risk. As Leeming JA went on to say, there will be difficult cases. There may not always be a clear answer. The answer may, and often will, depend upon the evidence adduced by the defendant in discharge of its onus of proving each of the elements of s 5L.
The primary judge identified the risk as:
"[72] …the risk of [the appellant's] mount falling, bringing him to the ground and causing him injury."
His Honour considered that that risk would have been obvious to a reasonable person in the appellant's position and was thus an obvious risk (as defined) and that, therefore, the appellant's injury resulted from the materialisation of an obvious risk of horseracing. On that view, all the elements of s 5L were satisfied and the appellant's claim was defeated. If the characterisation of the risk was correct, the analysis was also correct.
At trial the appellant proposed an alternative formulation of the risk of harm. That alternative was recorded in the primary judgment (at [73]) as:
"[The] risk of harm that eventuated is a risk that another rider would deliberately ride [his] horse so as to cause reckless or deliberate contact with an adjoining horse, in circumstances where [the first] horse was 'boxed' or 'pocketed', in a manner that was plainly contrary to the rules of racing."
[22]
Whether the risk was obvious
By ground 12, the appellant challenged the finding that, even on the alternative formulation proposed on his behalf, the risk was an obvious one.
That horseracing carries a risk of injury from a horse falling and thus causing injury to the jockey is plainly correct. That risk is an obvious one. That however is insufficient. As we have explained, the circumstances that cause the horse to fall are also relevant. The relevant findings of the primary judge in this respect were:
"[10] …
(6) At about the 420m or a little earlier the [respondent] commenced to ride Darcey forward and out from the rail, shifting wider to contact Decoree [ridden by Mr Ryan] and then exerting pressure to move Decoree to her left.
(7) After contact was made Mr Ryan directed Decoree to hold her line of running, against the pressure from Darcey. The [respondent] directed Darcey to the left in a manner that increased the pressure on Decoree.
(8) …
(9) Mr Ryan continued to direct Decoree to resist the pressure on her right from Darcey and to maintain her line of running. He also rode Decoree forward, limiting Darcey to only a head in front.
(10) The [respondent] abruptly increased the pressure of his mount against Decoree and despite Mr Ryan having attempted to resist, Decoree was moved to her left.
(11) The abrupt increase in pressure from Darcey caused Decoree's hind quarters to be displaced to the left. The rear of Decoree contacted Blue Onyx [ridden by the appellant] somewhere between the shoulder and flank and there was either an entanglement with Blue Onyx's legs or at least his strike was interrupted, causing him to blunder and fall."
Notwithstanding those findings, in rejecting the appellant's formulation of the relevant risk, the primary judge said:
"74. I am not satisfied that the [respondent] did 'deliberately ride [Darcey] so as to cause reckless or deliberate contact with' Decoree. I find that his riding was careless …
75. The [respondent] carelessly rode his mount close up to the heels of Try to Please in circumstances where he would be dependent upon Decoree giving way to his left, in combination with Try to Please taking the home turn tightly …
76. I find that in this situation the [respondent] had placed himself in a position where all the alternatives involved a risk of accident …
77. Fault for getting into this predicament lay with the [respondent]. He failed to allow for the capacity of the outside horse [to hold] him in and for the inclination of the leaders to take the turn wide …
78. In the terminology of the [appellant's] formulation of the risk that materialised, I find that the [respondent] rode Darcey to cause 'deliberate contact with an adjoining horse', namely Decoree. I am satisfied that this was careless riding contrary to the Australian Rules of Racing. I find that it was not excused as a manoeuvre necessary to avoid clipping the heels of Try To Please because the [respondent] was careless to have urged his mount forward to a position where those were his only alternatives. However, I am not satisfied on the balance of probabilities that in proceeding to this dangerous position, or in pushing heavily against Decoree to get himself out of it, the [respondent's] riding was reckless in the sense of the [respondent] recognising the risk of harm to another horse and/or rider and proceeding with his actions indifferent to whether or not such harm should result." (italics added)
[23]
Breach of duty
It then becomes necessary to consider the primary judge's contingent conclusion that, notwithstanding the findings extracted above, the respondent's riding did not involve a breach of his duty of care to the appellant (grounds 1-7).
In reaching his conclusion adverse to the appellant on this question the primary judge took into account:
"[93] … the dynamic nature of the race and the speed at which changes took place in the relative positions of the horses and in the pace of each of them."
His Honour considered that, at a point in the race, "an instant decision was required" on the part of the respondent, delay in which would commit him to a "passive alternative": at [95]. He was not satisfied on the balance of probabilities that the respondent acted with less than reasonable care in deciding to ride Darcey as he did.
Of the respondent's decision to position Darcey as he did, the primary judge said:
"[96] The decision proved to be a bad one for the safety of other riders …"
His Honour appears to have considered that, having made his first decision, the respondent was locked into a position, and his choices were limited, although the choices that he made were "adverse to the safety of other riders": at [98].
In our opinion those conclusions are inconsistent with the earlier findings that the respondent's riding was careless (and deliberate) and involved a risk of accident.
The factual findings made by the primary judge in relation to the question of obvious risk, in our opinion, leave no room for the conclusion that the respondent was not in breach of his duty to the appellant.
The consequence of these conclusions is that we would uphold the appeal and set aside the judgment of the Supreme Court and give judgment for the appellant. Damages were the subject of a settlement which was approved by the primary judge pursuant to s 76 of the Civil Procedure Act 2005 (NSW). Accordingly, the orders we propose are:
1. Allow the appeal.
2. Set aside the judgment of the primary judge.
3. Enter judgment for the appellant in the sum of $5 million.
4. Order the respondent to pay the appellant's costs.
[24]
Endnotes
Singh v Lynch [2019] NSWSC 1403 ("Singh").
(2017) 96 NSWLR 503; [2017] NSWCA 311.
Statement of claim, 14 July 2015, particulars of breach, (l) and (m).
Singh at [6].
Singh at [10].
Singh at [10(6)].
Singh at [3].
Fallas v Mourlas (2006) 65 NSWLR 418; [2006] NSWCA 32 at [51] (Ipp JA).
Wicks v State Rail Authority of New South Wales (2010) 241 CLR 60; [2010] HCA 22 at [22]-[24] (in relation to s 32).
Fallas at [29].
See, for example, Woods v Multi-Sport Holdings Pty Ltd (2002) 208 CLR 460; [2002] HCA 9 at [1] (Gleeson CJ).
P Herzfeld and T Prince, Interpretation (2nd ed, Thomson Reuters, 2020) at [3.70]; YZ Finance Co Pty Ltd v Cummings (1964) 109 CLR 395, 398 (McTiernan J, Taylor and Windeyer JJ agreeing), 401-402 (Kitto J), 405 (Menzies J); [1964] HCA 12.
Commonwealth of Australia, Review of the Law of Negligence - Final Report (September 2002) ("Final Report").
Final Report, recommendation 11.
Fallas at [45].
Ibid.
[1926] AC 725 at 731.
See, generally, Rootes v Shelton (1967) 116 CLR 383; [1967] HCA 39; Rogers v Whitaker (1992) 175 CLR 479; [1992] HCA 58.
(2000) 201 CLR 552; [2000] HCA 41.
Rootes v Shelton (1967) 116 CLR 383.
Interpretation Act 1987 (NSW), s 35(1)(a).
(1994) 181 CLR 404 at 419; [1994] HCA 54.
(1998) 194 CLR 355; [1998] HCA 28 at [69] (McHugh, Gummow, Kirby and Hayne JJ).
(2015) 256 CLR 1; [2015] HCA 14.
Final Report, recommendation 12.
Goode v Angland at [189].
(1981) 147 CLR 297 at 321; [1981] HCA 26.
Workers Compensation Act 1987 (NSW), s 10 (journey claims).
[2011] TASSC 19.
Dodge at [262]-[264].
Dodge at [265].
Dodge at [270].
Goode at [205].
Tasmanian authority will no longer be relevant in this respect as s 19 has been amended so that recreational activity is defined without reference to sport, thus adopting a definition limited to par (b) of s 5K.
[25]
Amendments
23 July 2020 - 125 - amending "that section" to "that definition".
Fn 12 - correcting spelling of "Thomson".
26 April 2021 - [144] - amending "429" to "428".
[153] - closing the bracket after citation of "[2015] NSWCA 90 at [98]".
[154] - correcting quotation by deleting the word "him".
[155] - correcting quotation by deleting the square brackets around "his".
[156] - amending "primary's judge's" to "primary judge's".
07 May 2021 - [41] Inserting "a" between "... provision and" and "consideration..."
[47] Deleting extra "that" before "a participant..."
[57] Deleting "him" before "injury" on last line.
Footnote 23 - Amending "CLR 455" to "CLR 355".
Footnote 27 - moving "at 321" to before HCA reference.
Footnote 45 - Amending "(1998) 46" to "(1998) 44".
Footnote 56 - Amending "[55]" to "[59]".
Footnote 57 - Amending "[68]" to "[73]".
[26]
[125(3)] Amending "secured tenancy" to "secure tenancy".
[125(5)] Amending Philipps" to "Phillips".
[141] Amending "Nature of the risk" to "Nature of risk".
Fn
11 May 2021 - [30] Deleted "what" before "[within..."; Replacing "them" with "the defined term]"
[50] Deleted "as" between "to show it..." and "was not one..."
DISCLAIMER - Every effort has been made to comply with suppression orders or statutory provisions prohibiting publication that may apply to this judgment or decision. The onus remains on any person using material in the judgment or decision to ensure that the intended use of that material does not breach any such order or provision. Further enquiries may be directed to the Registry of the Court or Tribunal in which it was generated.
Decision last updated: 11 May 2021
The statutory definition of "recreational activity" cannot be read down by reliance on the ordinary meaning of "recreational": [34], [98]-[131], [142], [191]-[192].
Discussion of reliance on ordinary meaning of defined term in construing definition: [33], [102]-[131].
The Owners of the Ship 'Shin Kobe Maru' v Empire Shipping Co Inc 1994) 181 CLR 404 at 419; [1994] HCA 54; Project Blue Sky Inc v Australian Broadcasting Authority (1998) 194 CLR 455; [1998] HCA 28; Independent Commission Against Corruption v Cunneen (2015) 256 CLR 1; [2015] HCA 14; P Herzfeld and T Prince, Interpretation (Thomson Reuters, 2nd ed, 2020), [3.50] discussed
The analysis in Menz v Wagga-Wagga assists in charactering a risk of harm for the purposes of s 5L: [49], [136], [150], [195].
Menz v Wagga Wagga Show Society Inc [2020] NSWCA 65, applied.
In relation to (2):
by Basten JA, Leeming JA, and Payne JA:
Fine distinctions differentiating species of unsafe riding should not govern the characterisation of risk: [66], [136], [142].
A finding in relation to the obviousness of a risk under ss 5L and 5K does not depend on the range of ways in which a risk may be characterised but rather whether the risk of a fall as a result of another jockey's careless riding, constituted by the deliberate contact with another horse, and contrary to the rules of racing, was the materialisation of an obvious risk: [66], [139], [151]-[153]. The appellant's injury was the result of the materialisation of an obvious risk which occurred in the course of a dangerous recreational activity: [68], [139], [151].
by Basten JA (Leeming JA and Payne JA agreeing)
While the trial judge was wrong to conclude that the respondent's riding was merely careless and not reckless, and thus the defendant was liable in negligence, that does not assist in the interpretation and application of principle to ss 5K and 5L: [68], [141], [156].
by Payne JA (Basten JA and Leeming JA agreeing):
It may be accepted that the respondent's riding was "unexpected, unreasonable and also unnecessary". That conclusion does not address the obviousness of the risk: [177], [69], [141]. The "recklessness" or "deliberateness" of the breach of r 137(a) does not alter its obviousness: [66]-[69], [138], [142].
by McCallum JA and Simpson AJA (dissenting):
In determining whether the harm which befell the plaintiff was the materialisation of an obvious risk under ss 5K and 5L, regard must be had to the mechanism by which an injury was caused: [203]. On the facts of this case, that inquiry calls attention to the manner of riding that caused the appellant's horse to fall: [203]. The categories of "careless, improper, incompetent or foul riding" in r 137(a) are of varying and, generally, escalating degrees of gravity: [209].
The question is whether it would have been obvious to a reasonable person in the position of the appellant that another professional jockey would ride his horse in the manner that the primary judge found that the respondent did, that is, deliberately directing his horse to push sideways or "bump" against another horse so abruptly as to move that horse off her line of running and into the line of running of a third horse: [212].
The riding of the respondent was aggressive and not merely careless: [225], [226], involving deliberate and persistent riding by the respondent which caused the fall: [226]. The defence under s 5L was not established: [229].
In relation to (3):
The riding by the respondent was unsafe and grossly negligent: [77], [141], [156], [236].
by Basten, Leeming and Payne JJA:
The consequence of the breach of duty was that s 5L was engaged; as s 5L provided an exemption from liability for the respondent, he was not liable in negligence: [78], [141], [142].
by McCallum JA and Simpson AJA (dissenting):
The breach of duty rendered the respondent liable in negligence: [237].
Section 5L thus contains two descriptors qualifying the concept of "risk". The risk must be "obvious" in the sense of a risk which would be obvious "to a reasonable person in the position of [the plaintiff]"; further, the activity must be one which "involves a significant risk of physical harm." In Fallas v Mourlas Ipp JA stated that "there is nothing in s 5L that indicates that the obvious risk that materialises must be one of the significant risks that transforms a recreational activity into a dangerous recreational activity." [10] While that may be true, s 5L is concerned with the materialisation of an obvious risk "of" a dangerous recreational activity; in most cases it will be irrelevant whether that risk is also a significant risk of physical harm.
The third criterion for the engagement of s 5L is that it is the plaintiff who must be engaged in the dangerous recreational activity. In the present case both the plaintiff and the defendant were involved in horse racing. However, although there must be a causal relationship between some activity of the defendant and that in which the plaintiff suffered physical harm, they need not be participants in the same activity. Thus, the section must be construed bearing in mind the potential range of roles which could be played by the defendant, including (i) the owner or manager of the place in which the accident occurs; (ii) the employer of either the plaintiff or the directly negligent party; (iii) an association responsible for setting the rules or otherwise regulating the activity in which the accident occurs, or (iv) the directly negligent party. [11]
That is, the defence requires that the plaintiff understood and accepted that participation ran the risk of tortious conduct for which no remedy could be obtained. Although the heading to Pt 1A, Div 4 is "Assumption of risk", bereft of the key element of voluntariness, it does not bear a close relationship with the general law principle, which may or may not have survived its enactment.
The short response to the appellant's reliance on the Final Report is that the legislation did not adopt important aspects of the recommendation. Section 5L is not limited to providers of recreational services, nor does it refer to voluntary participants.
In policy terms one can understand why that might be. For example, the reasoning in the Final Report appeared to distinguish between school children who are required to engage in sport and those who do so voluntarily. A person who provided diving or rock-climbing activities on a commercial basis would be exempt if the participants were holiday-makers, but not if they were in training as part of their employment. The suggestion that recreation and leisure are undertaken for "self-regarding reasons", warranting protection from liability for a negligent supervisor may not have been persuasive.
There is a distinction between the materialisation of an inherent risk (which is not a consequence of negligence on the part of any person) and the materialisation of an obvious risk (which does seem to assume negligence). [18] Both can arise in the course of sporting activities. In considering the policy of respecting voluntary choice the difference is important.
Agar v Hyde, [19] a decision delivered two years before the publication of the Final Report, addressed a claim in negligence brought by two rugby football players who suffered serious injury as a result of a collapsing scrum and sued the International Rugby Football Board for alleged deficiencies in the rules relating to the formation of scrums. The case concerned adults participating voluntarily in amateur sport. Gleeson CJ made the following observations with respect to such participation:
"[14] Voluntary participation in a sporting activity does not imply an assumption of any risk which might be associated with the activity, so as to negate the existence of a duty of care in any other participant or in any person in any way involved in or connected with the activity. [20] That, however, is not to deny the significance of voluntary participation in determining the existence and content, in a given case, or category of cases, of an asserted duty of care.
[15] People who pursue recreational activities regarded as sports often do so in hazardous circumstances; the element of danger may add to the enjoyment of the activity. Accepting risk, sometimes to a high degree, is part of many sports. A great deal of public and private effort, and funding, is devoted to providing facilities for people to engage in individual or team sport. This reflects a view, not merely of the importance of individual autonomy, but also of the public benefit of sport. Sporting activities of a kind that sometimes result in physical injury are not only permitted; they are encouraged. Sport commonly involves competition, either between individuals or teams. A sporting contest might involve body contact where physical injury is an obvious risk, or the undertaking by individual competitors of efforts which test the limits of their capabilities in circumstances where failure is likely to result in physical harm. Rules are of the essence of sporting competition. Individuals, or teams, wishing to compete must agree, personally or through membership of some form of association, upon the rules which will govern their competition."
It is clear that conflicting policy considerations could lead to the view that the voluntariness was not a necessary element for protection from liability. However, the rationale for the protection need not be pursued: it is sufficient that the language adopted by the legislature did not reflect the language of the Final Report.
It follows that neither the language nor the structure of the statute, nor the legislative history, provides any basis for excluding professionals involved in a sporting activity from the exemption from liability provided by s 5L. It should be noted that if the exemption is available, it depends not on whether the defendant was engaged in the dangerous recreational activity, but only on whether the plaintiff was so engaged.
Adopting that approach, it is not possible to identify a legislative purpose based upon the use of the term recreational activity in its ordinary, everyday meaning in order to read down the definition, because the purpose cannot properly be identified by excluding the definition. That is not to say that the defined term may not in some circumstances affect the construction of the definition, without impermissible circularity. I agree with the observations of Leeming JA on this issue, accepting that no firm principle can be stated in the absence of full submissions as to the scope of the statement in Shin Kobe Maru.
The appellant suggested, to support giving a limited operation to par (c) in the definition of recreational activity, the example of a person,
"… who happens to walk home from work thereby commuting and not engaging in any recreational activity … but passes through a public park …. If that person found themselves to be injured, a question might arise as to whether or not a recreational activity, and in some circumstances a dangerous recreational activity may have taken place. But certainly on the construction that has been given in Goode to par (c), the mere act of being in a place amounts to a recreational activity."
The example was put forward as demonstrating the absurdity of a broad construction, but was inapt. Accepting that walking home from work may be engaged in for the purpose of enjoyment, relaxation or leisure, it is doubtful that the section seeks to draw a distinction between (i) a walk in the park during the lunch hour; (ii) walking from a place of work to home, or (iii) a walk in the park from home after work. The mere fact that worker's compensation may cover (i) and (ii) is beside the point. [28] Further, s 5L(1) only applies where the plaintiff is engaged in a dangerous recreational activity. It is most unlikely that walking home through a park would satisfy that test.
In terms of authority, the appellant also called in aid the Tasmanian decision in Dodge v Snell, [29] where Wood J considered a similar issue arising from injuries caused to a jockey whose horse fell in the course of a race. Section 20 of the Civil Liability Act 2002 (Tas) was in similar terms to s 5L. Section 19 contained a definition of "recreational activity" which included pars (a) and (b) of the definition in s 5K, but not par (c). Wood J addressed the construction of the statute in steps by (i) referring to dictionary definitions of "recreational"; [30] (ii) treating the word "recreational" as one which "contributes to the meaning of the definition and should be given effect"; [31] (iii) considering that the inclusion of sport in a separate limb of the definition attracted cases in which sport was undertaken for the purposes of acquiring skill and fitness, which were not necessarily within the language of "enjoyment, relaxation or leisure", thus giving both paragraphs work to do; and (iv) concluding that "[t]he context of the provision and a consideration of the Act as a whole does not suggest that the exclusion regarding 'dangerous recreational activities' was intended to extend to professional sports people carrying out their paid occupations." [32]
The effect of that approach is to commence with a presumption that the term defined bears its ordinary meaning (ascertained by reference to a dictionary or dictionaries) and to impose that meaning on the definition, rather than giving the whole definition its ordinary meaning. That process of construction was rejected in Goode v Angland; [33] Dodge is not consistent with the reasoning set out above and should not be followed in this State. [34]
This Court would not depart from the conclusions reached in Goode v Angland unless comfortably satisfied that the construction adopted was wrong. For the reasons set out above, it should be accepted that Goode v Angland was correct in its construction of s 5K and s 5L, with regard to sporting activities where the plaintiff is remunerated for his or her participation.
Relying on this reasoning, the appellant contended that even if there were an obvious risk of careless riding, the risk of reckless riding was not obvious and the respondent's conduct should have been so characterised.
However, the appropriate characterisation of a risk will depend entirely upon the circumstances of the particular case and may involve a more nuanced inquiry than a distinction between "negligence" and "gross negligence". Further, it is by no means clear that asking what "a person might accept" as a relevant risk of harm is an element of the definition in s 5F. Obviousness and acceptability are discrete concepts; the statute adopts the former. Although the heading to Div 4 (containing s 5F), namely "Assumption of risk", reflects the general law principle that "a participant in a sport or pastime has voluntarily assumed a risk which is not inherent in that sport or pastime so as to exclude a relevant duty of care", [36] that is not the language adopted in s 5F and s 5L.
In considering how a risk should be defined for the purposes of determining whether the activity was a dangerous recreational activity, Ipp JA in Fallas v Mourlas referred to the question as "essentially one of statutory construction" which involved a "clear ambiguity" resulting in "a construction that might result in potential unfairness and injustice should be avoided and a fair and just construction is to be preferred." [37] However, it may not be helpful to describe the question as one of statutory construction, let alone one involving an ambiguous provision. Further, the difficulty in adopting a test of "a fair and just construction" is that it renders the outcome in particular cases highly unpredictable.
In Menz v Wagga Wagga Show Society Inc, [38] Leeming JA set out a number of principles to be applied in determining whether, on the facts of a particular case, the risk which had materialised was "an obvious risk". [39] There are two propositions which are fundamental. The first is that "[t]he obviousness of the risk is to be considered from the perspective of the plaintiff, prior to the incident occurring." [40] That proposition derives from the language of s 5F(1). Secondly, the specification of the risk must capture the harm which resulted from it materialising. [41] That proposition reflects a basic element of a claim in negligence, in language found in ss 5B, 5F and 5L. It is therefore correct to say that the determination of an obvious risk involves a combination of foresight and hindsight. [42] However, that is true of other elements of a negligence case, including the determination of the precautions which a reasonable person in the defendant's position would take, assessed in accordance with s 5B. That does not diminish the importance of undertaking a prospective assessment of both the content of the defendant's duty and the obviousness of the risk, for a reasonable person in the plaintiff's position.
It does not follow, however, that the question of obviousness can appropriately be resolved by identifying the relevant risk so broadly as to encompass all possible risks associated with the activity. Such a characterisation will no doubt capture the risk which materialised, but it may do so at the cost of undermining the apparent purpose and function of the defence. This danger was recognised in Menz by noting that "determining the appropriate level of particularity in the formulation of the risk of harm requires looking at the position with the benefit of hindsight." [43] However, that proposition was not intended to contradict the statement in the same paragraph that obviousness is to be considered prospectively. The correct approach is one which requires a balance to be drawn on the evidence in a particular case; it would be wrong to focus primarily on the hindsight exercise. To do so carries with it the opposite danger to that identified above, namely to define the risk which materialised by attention to the fine-grained detail of the event, to show it was not one which the plaintiff could reasonably have anticipated. That such an exercise was not intended by the language used in these paragraphs in Menz is confirmed by noting how the principles were applied, at [79].
There is a danger of over-intellectualising the process of determining whether, in a particular case, the risk which materialised should be characterised as "obvious". The language of s 5F includes within the phrase "obvious risk", risks which are "patent or a matter of common knowledge", risks having "a low probability of occurring" and risks which are not necessarily "prominent, conspicuous or physically observable." None of this language is technical; none invokes a legal concept.
The law of negligence is replete with definitional criteria which cannot be identified with precision. Thus, a defendant can only be liable in negligence if a reasonable person in his or her position would have foreseen that the conduct giving rise to harm involved a risk of injury to a class of persons including the plaintiff. [44] On the other hand, a risk foreseeable to the defendant will not give rise to liability if the risk was obvious to a reasonable person in the position of the injured party, in circumstances falling within the scope of s 5L. In such a case the risk must be foreseeable, but not obvious. There is limited value in further exegesis. As Priestley JA pertinently remarked in relation to Lord Atkin's exposition of the duty of care, and later case law, "[t]he modern abundance of authority would not however make Lord Atkin much wiser." [45]
The judge then concluded that the more specific risk was also an obvious risk:
"[82] There is a great deal of evidence to show that careless riding is a common occurrence. Mr Ryan agreed that he has himself been charged with breach of r 137(a) on many occasions. The plaintiff's riding record, similarly, shows that on eight occasions he was found guilty of careless riding contrary to r 137(a) in circumstances that involved him shifting his mount across the track. …
[83] Statistics collected by Racing New South Wales in annual reports for 2006, 2007, 2011 and 2012 show that in each of those years between 240 and 300 of breaches of r 137(a) were found proved. I infer that the number would have been similar in all years from 2006 up to the date of this accident. Mr Ryan said that to his knowledge on 'hundreds of occasions every year jockeys are charged and suspended for careless riding'. He said the majority of careless riding charges are where the jockey has allowed his horse to shift but usually this is a shift inwards, where the rider is 'trying to get in close to the rail to not cover excessive ground'.
…
[87] The infringement statistics and the racing records of Mr Ryan and of the plaintiff demonstrate that breaches occur frequently enough for it to be said that riding contrary to the rules is an obvious risk within s 5F. By formulating the risk that materialised in such a way as to incorporate a breach of the rules of racing, the plaintiff does not show that the risk is any less obvious. Accordingly, even if the risk that materialised should be identified in the narrower and more specific terms considered at [81] above, that was still an obvious risk within s 5F and the plaintiff's claim is defeated by s 5L."
Each step in the reasoning was correct in its terms; however, in my view it was wrong to divide the steps taken by the respondent into discrete parts. While it is true that decisions were made within a very small time period, the "predicament" and "Hobson's choice" was the result of his own miscalculation. That is different from a situation where a person is required to make a judgment in the heat of the moment as a result of circumstances which were beyond his or her control. Having found himself in a position where he could not readily challenge the leaders, he not only took steps, but continued to pursue steps which were designed to force the hand of the rider next to him. It is by no means clear that he had no alternative course available once he had urged his horse forward, without creating a similar risk to other horses, but even if that were so, it demonstrated the recklessness of the initial action. To the extent that the appellant challenges the finding that the respondent's conduct was merely careless, I would accept the argument. The question is, however, whether that has any consequence for the engagement of s 5L.
On the evidence before the trial judge, although there are many charges laid under r 137(a), findings of careless, improper, incompetent and foul riding were not distinguished. The respondent was charged only with careless riding, [51] and found guilty as charged. [52] However, it does not follow that in the ordinary use of the word "reckless", the respondent was not reckless in his riding. It does mean, however, that his riding was of a kind which fell within a relatively common place category. There is no basis for avoiding the conclusion that the risk of injury was one arising from the conduct of another jockey in recklessly trying to escape from a position where he was boxed in coming into the final straight.
Applying this approach, the preferred characterisation adopted by the trial judge may be too broad in that it fails to identify a risk arising from potentially negligent conduct. The relevant elements of the risk which materialised in this case were not merely the jockey falling from his mount, but a fall caused by contact with another horse, being contact which in turn resulted from the negligent riding of another participant. The precise degree of negligence was not material. Accordingly, describing the conduct of the respondent as reckless rather than careless was not an essential element of the characterisation of the risk. The alternative characterisation considered by the trial judge was apt; his conclusion that it involved an obvious risk was well supported on the evidence and was correctly made.
In addition to the foregoing, I agree with what Leeming JA and Payne JA have written in concluding that the appellant's injury was the materialisation of an obvious risk.
Having given that evidence before the Stewards, the respondent did not give evidence at trial. There was, therefore, no direct evidence from the respondent to contradict the finding set out above that what he did was self-evidently "particularly unsafe".
That finding was supported by the evidence of Mr Ryan, who was the rider of Decoree and, as the judge accepted, was an extremely experienced jockey. He described Mr Ryan's testimony as "frank and open and impressive." [55] Relevant aspects of his evidence were summarised in the following terms:
"[33] Mr Ryan's statement contradicts the defendant's contention to the Stewards. On Mr Ryan's description the defendant was buffeting Decoree in conjunction with riding up onto the heels of Try to Please and he then abruptly applied a higher impact pressure, forcing Decoree to the left to create a line of running that had otherwise not been established. Mr Ryan said that when this occurred Decoree was half a neck ahead of Darcey; the shoulders of Darcey were just behind those of Decoree.
…
[36] Mr Ryan gave the opinion, based upon his experience, that everything done by the defendant prior to the abrupt bump was 'within the usual practice of a jockey'. However, he observed that the defendant's attention was entirely focused on his own mount and on Decoree and the two leaders. Mr Ryan said the defendant did not look behind him to his left or attempt to see whether there was another horse to the outside of Decoree that might have been hampered as a result of Decoree being pushed wide into such other horse's rightful running. He considered that it would not be expected by a professional jockey in the position of the plaintiff that a sudden forceful bump would be applied by an inside horse in the position of Darcey, to push Decoree's hindquarters to the left into Blue Onyx's path, as occurred."
As noted above, the judge rejected the submission that the respondent's riding was reckless, [56] and repeated his finding as to careless riding:
"[78] … I am satisfied that this was careless riding contrary to the Australian Rules of Racing. I find that it was not excused as a manoeuvre necessary to avoid clipping the heels of Try to Please because the defendant was careless to have urged his mount forward to a position where those were his only alternatives. However, I am not satisfied on the balance of probabilities that in proceeding to this dangerous position, or in pushing heavily against Decoree to get himself out of it, the defendant's riding was reckless in the sense of the defendant recognising the risk of harm to another horse and/or rider and proceeding with his actions indifferent to whether or not such harm should result."
Having accepted that the respondent's riding was not only contrary to the Rules of Racing, but was "unsafe" and "particularly unsafe when the rider … has not looked around to ensure that the horse to his left will not be pushed sharply into the path of another horse", [57] a finding of breach of the duty to have regard to the safety of fellow riders should have followed. For reasons noted above, the evidence amply supported a finding of recklessness, or what may perhaps be described as gross negligence.
For these reasons, the rejection by the trial judge of any breach of the duty of care was erroneous. However, the only consequence of a finding of breach of duty would be that s 5L was engaged. As s 5L provided an exemption from liability for the respondent, the erroneous finding as to breach does not alter the outcome of the appeal.
The third limb presented a difficulty in cases where professional and non-professional people participated in the same activity at the same location. How could a construction based upon the characterisation of the participants apply to a limb which was based on the location of the activity: at [194]?
The reasoning then turned to more general considerations which were regarded as confirming what flowed from the text and structure of the section. Referring to a series of examples where professionals and non-professionals might compete in the same events (marathon running, some forms of car and motor bike racing, and an elite high school or undergraduate rugby player who played a game with professionals), it would seem most arbitrary for there to be liability for a negligently inflicted injury upon a professional, but not upon the student: at [195]. It was also noted that the distinction between professional and non-professional was scarcely a crisp one: at [196].
I concluded that analysis by saying at [198] that:
"All these difficulties arise from seeking to impose a gloss not found in the statutory definition, and contrary to the generality and ordinary meaning of 'any sport'. They tell against the appellant's construction."
Turning to authority, two obiter passages in two appellate decisions which had been relied on to support the construction were addressed at [199]-[204], followed by disagreement with the reasoning of the Tasmanian Supreme Court at first instance, which had relied on the ordinary meaning and dictionary definitions of "recreational": at [205]-[208].
Finally, the reasons turned to the Minister's Second Reading speech, which did not distinguish between sports engaged in for professional purposes as opposed to recreational purposes: at [209]-[210].
Meagher JA added a reference in his concurrence at [178] to the way in which the statute had departed from the recommendation in the Ipp Report (which had proposed a narrower exception, essentially confined to what has now been enacted as the second limb). His Honour said that the introduction of the first and third limbs of the definition attached to the objective characteristics of an activity or place, rather than to a participant's purpose. He said that the departure from the committee's recommendation must be taken to have broadened the scope of the defined expression.
The appellant's written submissions stated that my judgment in Goode v Angland "rests upon an express rejection (at [206]) of the proposition that the ordinary or dictionary meaning of 'recreational activity' was relevant to the construction of the term as defined in s 5K". I do not think that is an accurate characterisation of my reasoning, which started with the text, and focussed on its triply disjunctive limbs, attending in particular to the first limb and how the words "any sport" and "(whether or not the sport is an organised activity)" were inconsistent with the defined term not applying to professional sports. My reasoning then addressed the rest of the definition, and the practical difficulties where professionals and non-professionals competed with one another, and then authority and then the extrinsic materials. It is true that I did not think the ordinary or dictionary definitions of "recreational" much helped, but that was part of my reasoning for departing from the construction given by the Tasmanian Supreme Court.
Thus the rejection of the ordinary or dictionary meaning of "recreational activity" was an element of my reasoning. But it was not a matter which was even mentioned until I addressed a judgment which had held to the contrary.
The appellant contended that the answer to the question posed in my judgment was that not "all" activities in places identified in the third limb of the definition were captured by the definition; "only activities bearing the essential characteristic of recreation are so caught".
The submission proceeded:
"The alternative, adopted by his Honour, requiring as necessary and sufficient only a trigger of location, will necessarily include as excluded activities some which are entirely unrelated to recreation",
and added that:
"it would exclude from the law of negligence accidents to people conducting businesses or working as volunteers or present for a plainly non recreational purpose (including, for example, as volunteer lifesavers, casual stall holders and food providers in parks, or members of the public simply transiting such a place during a journey), simply because accidents in such situations occurred in a geographic location being a 'place (such as a beach, park or other public open space) where people ordinarily engage in sport or in any pursuit or activity for enjoyment, relaxation or leisure'."
I disagree. The "trigger of location", which is to say the third limb of the definition, was not a necessary and sufficient condition for the definition to be engaged. The gravamen of my reasoning was that satisfaction of any of the three limbs was a sufficient condition. Further, the submission leaps from the satisfaction of a limb of the definition to the conclusion that a person is excluded from the law of negligence. But s 5L provides that a defendant is not liable in negligence for harm suffered as a result of the materialisation of an obvious risk of a dangerous recreational activity. Selling icecreams at the beach or in a park might be a recreational activity, but it is not without more a dangerous recreational activity. Walking through a park on a person's way home from the station falls into the same category. Volunteer lifesavers may be in a different position, but how and when they are excluded from the law of negligence, if that be the position, was unexplained.
The appellant's written submissions then relied on the Ipp Report, but neglected to attend to the fact that, as Meagher JA had said in Goode v Angland, the legislation as enacted departed from its recommendations and included the first and third limbs, necessarily expanding the operation of "recreational activities".
The appellant's written submissions maintained that all three limbs of the definition were "sensibly coloured by the ordinary dictionary or grammatical reading of 'recreational activity'". This was elaborated orally ("At the heart of our submission is the contention that the true construction of s 5K requires the word 'recreation' in its ordinary meaning to be given a character and operation and work to do."
The Court gave the appellant an opportunity to develop his submissions on this ground, but no regard was given to the proposition in the unanimous judgment of the High Court in Owners of the Ship "Shin Kobe Maru" v Empire Shipping Co Inc (1994) 181 CLR 404 at 419; [1994] HCA 54:
"The Act's description of a claim falling within s 4(2) as a 'proprietary maritime claim' is of no assistance in construing the expression 'a claim ... relating to ... ownership'. The use of the word 'proprietary' in the term to be defined does not colour the meaning to be given to the definition which follows it. It would be quite circular to construe the words of a definition by reference to the term defined."
It was left to the presiding judge to raise this, towards the end of the appellant's submissions on this ground:
"BASTEN JA: ... [I]n The Owners of the Ship 'Shin Kobe Maru' 181 CLR 404 at 419, the High Court said that the use of the term to be defined does not colour the meaning to be given to the definition which follows it, because it would be quite circular to construe the words of a definition by reference to the term defined. There may be some limits on that principle, but I think you need to address them, don't you?
WARD: There are limits and the High Court in that case was dealing with a proposition - I think the word in question was 'proprietary' from memory.
BASTEN JA: Yes, correct.
WARD: The High Court was dealing with that word, asked to essentially define the entire concept by reason of the word 'proprietary'. That does not change the submission that we make, which is that it is possible to understand the totality of the context of the definition by reason of the preparatory words. There is a fine line. I do address it and I address it in this way. We do not say that 'recreational' is a word of limitation, it is a word which gives understanding to. It does not limit what would be the words of para (c), for example ..(not transcribable).. making clear that the, with great respect, the absurd outcome of somebody not in any sense engaging in an activity of recreation is caught simply by reason of the fact that they happen to be in a place.
When one looks to that problem and looks for a solution, the solution must be - and in our submission it is consistent with what the High Court said, the solution must be to ask what is the section addressing itself to? It is addressing itself to a recreational activity. It does so in an expansionary way, but there are limits upon the expansion. And the limits that exist on the expansion are limits that arise from the ordinary and understood meaning of the term which is itself defined."
Counsel then said that the Federal Court had expressed concern as to the breadth of the High Court's proposition and undertook to provide references. These were supplied at the conclusion of the reply: Esso Australia Resources Pty Ltd v Commissioner of Taxation (2011) 199 FCR 226; [2011] FCAFC 154 at [100]-[107] and Minister for Immigration and Border Protection v ARJ17 (2017) 250 FCR 474; [2017] FCAFC 125 at [118].
That was the totality of the submissions this Court received on the authorities bearing upon the approach to construction of the definition of "recreational activity". It would have been better if this had been addressed in written submissions. Failing that, it would also have been better if Shin Kobe Maru had been included on the appellant's list of authorities, or the amended list of authorities thereafter supplied (for it may be that, at least by the time of the hearing, counsel was aware of a High Court decision squarely bearing upon a proposition which was central to his case). As it transpired, it may be inferred that the respondent was given no notice of the decision, and made no submissions on it.
I do not accept the proposed distinction between words in a defined term which are words of limitation as opposed to words which "give understanding". The distinction is elusive, as is illustrated by the submission reproduced above, which shifts from the latter to the former in some three sentences. Moreover, the passage in Shin Kobe Maru referred to the circularity of a definition being "coloured" by the defined term and being construed by reference to it. The prohibition is expressed at a higher level than the distinction propounded by the appellant.
That said, there is an important question of statutory construction underlying the appellant's submission, which has yielded an unusually rich array of authority, and which at least on one view remains controversial.
A convenient starting point is the reasoning of Gibbs J in Wacal Developments Pty Ltd v Realty Developments Pty Ltd (1978) 140 CLR 503 at 507; [1978] HCA 30, who explained:
"With all respect it is impermissible to construe a definition by reference to the term defined. The expression is given by the statute a special meaning which must be applied whether or not it accords with the ordinary meaning."
That might be seen as a reaction to reasoning, largely associated with Barwick CJ, which insisted that it was indeed possible to limit a definition by reference to the term defined. One example is UG Insurances Pty Ltd v Commissioner of Stamp Duties (NSW) (1973) 128 CLR 353; [1973] HCA 31. Barwick CJ, with whom Mason J agreed, reached his conclusion in respect of the operation of the exhaustively defined term "credit arrangement" by reference to the undefined word "credit" which was part of the definition. The Chief Justice was quite explicit about this at 360:
"If the presence of the word 'credit' in its strict sense is regarded, as in my opinion it should be, as of significance in the description 'credit arrangement' it can properly be said, in my opinion that an arrangement to satisfy the statutory definition must be one under which purchase money is payable by a purchaser to whom time to pay the purchase money or some part of it has been or is being given the forbearance carrying interest."
Menzies J, with whom Stephen J agreed, disagreed with that approach (at 365), as did Gibbs J writing separately (at 369).
In Favelle Mort Ltd v Murray (1976) 133 CLR 580; [1976] HCA 13, Barwick CJ returned to the approach, this time in relation to the definition of "injury" in workers compensation legislation, which had been a vexed topic in the High Court, the Privy Council and the House of Lords. The definition was:
"'Injury' means personal injury arising out of or in the course of employment, and includes -
(a) a disease which is contracted by the worker in the course of his employment whether at or away from his place of employment and to which the employment was a contributing factor ..."
The definition of "injury" self-referentially extended to certain types of "personal injury", and so on any view it was necessary to have regard to the meaning of "personal injury". This tends to obscure the principles being applied. Nonetheless, the Chief Justice said at 588-589:
"The critical sentence of the reasons of their Lordships read by Lord Simonds and relied upon by Sir Owen Dixon in Darling Island Stevedoring and Lighterage Co Ltd v Hussey (1959) 102 CLR 482 at 492 was: 'But this at least is clear, that in the Act the word 'injury' (unless the context or subject-matter otherwise indicates or requires) must bear a very artificial meaning in that it is to include a disease which satisfies certain conditions and must, therefore, according to ordinary rules of construction, exclude any other disease' [1951] AC at 20; (1950) 51 SR (NSW) at 4. But it seems to me, with unfeigned respect for his Lordship, that there is no rule of construction which requires inclusive words to be read as exclusive of any elements which otherwise fall within the meaning of the word or expression being defined. Of course, if the matter included by extension of the definition does not otherwise or in any sense fall within the connotation of the word or expression being defined, the inclusion of such matter will not go beyond the terms in which the inclusion is expressed. Thus, if no reception of any disease falls within the connotation of the word 'injury' in the Act in its normal sense, the extension in par (a) will only include in that connotation such diseases as satisfy the conditions expressed in the extension. In a sense, all other diseases would be excluded, ie because not included.
But if the contraction of a disease by external cause or excitement is within the connotation of the word 'injury' in legislation of this kind, an extensive paragraph such as par (a) is not required by any rule of construction to be read as exclusive of some part of the ordinary connotation of the word whose connotation is being extended by inclusive words." (emphasis added)
McTiernan J and Jacobs J also relied on the opening words of the definition ("personal injury arising out of or in the course of employment"). Mason J, with whom Stephen J agreed, held as a matter of authority that that approach was not available.
The approach articulated by Gibbs J in Wacal was endorsed in Shin Kobe Maru without reference to the disagreement in the High Court which had preceded it, and without reference to the position in the United Kingdom, to which I shall in due course turn. Thereafter, it has been mentioned at least three times in joint judgments of members of the High Court.
In each of Independent Commission Against Corruption v Cunneen (2015) 256 CLR 1; [2015] HCA 14 at [33] and Minister for Immigration and Border Protection v WZAPN (2015) 254 CLR 610; [2015] HCA 22 at [48] four Justices of the High Court referred with apparent approval to the approach in Shin Kobe Maru. Most recently, in Australian Securities and Investments Commission v King [2020] HCA 4; 94 ALJR 293 at [18], Kiefel CJ, Gageler and Keane JJ referred to "the orthodox view that one should not attempt to 'construe the words of a definition by reference to the term defined'."
That might seem to amount to an overpowering weight of precedential authority on a generally applicable principle of statutory construction. But, and perhaps surprisingly, there is a large body of reasoning to the contrary post-dating Shin Kobe Maru.
First, in Data Access Corp v Powerflex Services Pty Ltd (1999) 202 CLR 1; [1999] HCA 49 at [34], the joint judgment said:
"Words in a statutory definition are to be interpreted in their statutory context. A court cannot interpret the meaning of the definition of 'computer program' in s 10(1) without some understanding of the manner in which a computer executes computer programs."
This was said of the exhaustive definition of "computer program" introduced by the Copyright Amendment Act 1984 (Cth):
"'computer program' means an expression, in any language, code or notation, of a set of instructions (whether with or without related information) intended, either directly or after either or both of the following:
(a) conversion to another language, code or notation;
(b) reproduction in a different material form,
to cause a device having digital information processing capabilities to perform a particular function."
It will be seen that "computer program" is given a highly artificial definition, which does not include any reference to "computer" or "program", and yet the High Court said that a court could not interpret the definition without some understanding of the manner in which a computer executes computer programs. That seems to reflect a reliance upon the defined term "computer program". It suggests that the proposition in Shin Kobe Maru may be less than universal (which would make it no different from most other propositions as to statutory interpretation).
Secondly, for some time lower courts have cautiously questioned the generality of what was said in Shin Kobe Maru. So far as I can see, the first to do so was the Victorian Court of Appeal in Hardy Wine Company Ltd v Janevruss Pty Ltd [2006] VSCA 28 at [5], where Callaway JA, with whom Eames and Ashley JJA agreed, said that "it may be that it is impermissible" to take the words of the defined term "fair market price" into account at all in construing the definition of that term, and added in a footnote:
"See the Owners of the Ship 'Shin Kobe Maru' v Empire Shipping Co Inc (1994) 181 CLR 404 at 419. I express myself cautiously because, with great respect, I do not think that the proposition on that page is universally true."
As the appellant indicated at the conclusion of his oral submissions, similar sentiments have been expressed by the Federal Court. In addition to what was said in the decisions to which the appellant referred, the divergent views which have been expressed on this question were collected in SZTVU v Minister for Home Affairs (2019) 268 FCR 497; [2019] FCAFC 30 at [66]-[71] and Secretary, Department of Home Affairs v CCA19 [2019] FCAFC 209 at [50]-[52]; see also Heffernan v Comcare (2014) 218 FCR 1; [2014] FCAFC 2 at [46]. An earlier decision of the Full Court which expressly proceeded on the basis that the ordinary meaning of the defined expression was not to be ignored in construing the definition is Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs v Hu (1997) 79 FCR 309 at 324E.
Although not mentioned by the appellant, there is also a body of decisions in this Court on the point, where caution has been urged in applying the generality of the proposition stated in Shin Kobe Maru. Those include Barangaroo Delivery Authority v Lend Lease (Millers Point) Pty Ltd [2014] NSWCA 279 at [11]; Tovir Investments Pty Ltd v Waverley Council [2014] NSWCA 379 at [20] and Tempe Recreation (D.500215 and D.1000502) Reserve Trust v Sydney Water Corporation (2014) 88 NSWLR 449; [2014] NSWCA 437 at [74].
Thirdly, there are quite numerous earlier cases contain dispositive reasoning which is arguably contrary to Shin Kobe Maru. In Manly Council v Malouf t/as Fusion Point (2004) 61 NSWLR 394; [2004] NSWCA 299, it was said at [8]-[9]:
"The word defined in a statute may properly influence the interpretation of the definition. See Conservative and Unionist Central Office v Burrell [1982] 1 WLR 522 CA at 525; [1982] 2 All ER 1 at 4 per Lawton LJ (CA). As F A R Bennion states (Statutory Interpretation, 3rd ed (1997) London, Butterworths, at 434): 'Whatever meaning may be expressly attached to a term, it is important to realise that its dictionary meaning is likely to exercise some influence over the way the definition will be understood by the court.'
The citations to this passage include Delaney v Staples [1992] 1 AC 687 at 692 where Lord Browne-Wilkinson said: 'The proper answer to this case turns on the special definition of "wages" in s 7 of the Act. But it is important to approach such definition bearing in mind the normal meaning of the word.'"
That reasoning was endorsed in Hastings Co-operative Ltd v Port Macquarie Hastings Council [2009] NSWCA 400 at [17], in Rennie Golledge Pty Ltd v Ballard (2012) 82 NSWLR 231; [2012] NSWCA 376 at [129]-[130] and in UNSW Global Pty Ltd v Chief Commissioner of State Revenue [2016] NSWSC 1852 at [56].
Other cases have paid regard to the term defined in relation to the Civil Liability Act. One instance is Falvo v Australian Oztag Sports Association [2006] NSWCA 17, where it was said, invoking the proposition that the definition had to be read as a whole, that the ordinary meaning of the defined term "dangerous recreational activity" could be taken into account when considering what is a "significant risk of physical harm": at [28] and [30]. In Streller v Albury City Council [2013] NSWCA 348; (2013) Aust Torts Rep 82-146 at [43], Falvo was applied and explained as follows:
"The reason why it is permissible to do so is referred to by Lord Hoffman in Chartbrook Ltd v Persimmon Homes Ltd; [2009] 1 AC 1101 at [17], albeit in the context of construing a definition in a commercial agreement:
'The words used as labels are seldom arbitrary. They are usually chosen as a distillation of the meaning or purpose of a concept intended to be more precisely stated in the definition. In such cases the language of the defined expression may help to elucidate ambiguities in the definition ... .'"
To be sure, in none of those decisions did the Court address the question of any inconsistency in approach with Shin Kobe Maru.
More recently, there are two decisions of the Queensland Court of Appeal stating that the position is settled. In Carter Capner Law v Clift [2020] QCA 125, it was said at [14]:
"Statements in some intermediate appellate court decisions suggest that in some circumstances it is permissible to use the ordinary meaning of a defined term in order to construe the words of the definition. Acknowledging the force of the reasoning in those cases, the High Court decisions in Owners of Shin Kobe Maru v Empire Shipping Co Inc and Minister for Immigration and Border Protection v WZAPN require the contrary conclusion for the reasons given by the Full Court of the Federal Court in Esso Australia Resources Pty Ltd v Federal Commissioner of Taxation and ASIC v Westpac Securities Administration Ltd." (footnotes omitted)
Likewise, the position was regarded as settled in BWP Management Limited v Ipswich City Council [2020] QCA 104 at [51], following a review of the conflicting decisions at [42]-[50]. However, neither decision referred to the High Court decisions preceding or post-dating Shin Kobe Maru which may arguably adopt a different approach.
Finally, there is a wealth of authority in the United Kingdom contrary to the approach in Shin Kobe Maru. The point is addressed in the leading text, Bennion on Statutory Interpretation (7th ed 2017) at section 18.5 under the heading "Defined term may itself colour meaning of definition". Two of the examples given of its operation are:
1. British Amusement Catering Trades Association v Westminster City Council [1988] 2 WLR 485, where Lord Griffiths said (at 491) of the definition of "cinematograph exhibition" that "use of the word 'cinematograph' immediately brings to mind a film show"; and
2. Delaney v Staples (t/a De Montfort Recruitment) [1992] 1 AC 687, where Lord Browne-Wilkinson said (at 692) that in construing the definition of "wages" it was "important to approach such definition bearing in mind the normal meaning of that word".
Those decisions pre-date Shin Kobe Maru, and so far as I can see, neither the House of Lords nor the United Kingdom Supreme Court has since 1994 considered what the High Court of Australia said. But the ultimate appellate tribunal of the United Kingdom has repeatedly relied on reasoning which would be inconsistent with Shin Kobe Maru, including the following, without seeking to be exhaustive:
1. MacDonald (Inspector of Taxes) v Dextra Accessories Ltd [2005] UKHL 47; [2005] 4 All ER 107 at [18] (responding to an observation that the term "potential emoluments" was defined, it was said that "that does not mean that the choice of words adopted by Parliament must be wholly ignored. If the terms of the definition are ambiguous, the choice of the term to be defined may throw some light on what they mean");
2. Oxfordshire County Council v Oxford City Council [2006] 2 AC 674; [2006] UKHL 25 at [82]-[83] (citing Bennion, and concluding that "I do not believe it can be correct to insist on a literal application of the section 22(1) definition [of "town or village green" in the Commons Registration Act 1965 (UK)] so as to apply it to land that no one would recognise as a town or village green");
3. Birmingham City Council v Walker [2007] 2 AC 262; [2007] UKHL 22 at [11] (saying in relation to the defined term "successor" that "the word 'successor' most naturally means successor to a secure tenancy" and that "[a]lthough successor is a defined expression, the ordinary meaning of the word is part of the material which can be used to construe the definition");
4. Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs v Stringer [2009] UKHL 31; [2009] 4 All ER 1205 at [24] (where the passage reproduced above from Delaney v Staples was cited and applied);
5. Phillips v News Group Newspapers Ltd [2013] 1 AC 1; [2012] UKSC 28 at [18]-[19] endorsing Bennion's approach and what was said in MacDonald v Dextra Accessories Ltd, although ultimately concluding that the defined term "intellectual property" had but limited potency in the construction of that definition (at [20]).
The new edition of P Herzfeld and T Prince, Interpretation (Thomson Reuters, 2nd ed 2020) - a work which is not only readable but has the advantage of expressing the authors' views and reasoning on contestable points - has an extended analysis of the issue at [3.50], which warrants reproduction in full (footnotes omitted):
"[3.50] There are conflicting authorities on whether it is permissible to take into account the ordinary meaning of the defined term in construing the definition.
In Owners of Ship Shin Kobe Maru v Empire Shipping Co Inc (1994) 181 CLR 404, the High Court said that to do so would be 'circular'. However, there are subsequent Australian intermediate appellate authorities which have taken a contrary view, and there are both previous and subsequent contrary English authorities. Despite being directed to what had been said in The Shin Kobe Maru, and without saying that it was wrong, the High Court in Independent Commission Against Corruption v Cunneen (2015) 256 CLR 1 apparently took into account the ordinary meaning of the expression 'corrupt conduct' in construing a definition of that term.
As a matter of principle, the view in The Shin Kobe Maru is incorrect. The term chosen as the defined term is usually chosen as a meaningful label, because its ordinary meaning approximates the idea to be conveyed by the definition. As Lord Hoffmann put it concerning contractual definitions: 'The words used as labels are seldom arbitrary. They are usually chosen as a distillation of the meaning or purpose of a concept intended to be more precisely stated in the definition.' Indeed, that must be the case given that, if there is a contrary intention, a definition will be inapplicable in a particular provision. Then, the provision operates with only the defined term. Thus, if there is a definition in an Act that 'pets means dogs and cats', it is significant that the word chosen as the defined term was 'pets' not 'animals' or 'Word 1'. The ordinary meaning of 'pets' therefore forms part of the context when deciding, for instance, whether within the defined term 'dogs' extends to wild coyotes and 'cats' extends to untamed tigers.
For these reasons, while definitions may take the meaning of a word or expression well outside its ordinary meaning if the drafting of the definition is clear, the preferable view is that the ordinary meaning of a word may exert some influence on the construction of the definition itself." (emphasis original)
Putting to one side for a moment the question of authority, the position is arguably quite nuanced:
1. Is the preclusive rule in Shin Kobe Maru one which is universally applicable (which is how it has recently been construed in the Queensland Court of Appeal)? Alternatively, is the court always entitled to have regard to the defined term? Or does the position vary depending upon the particular definition and particular regime?
2. Does it matter whether the definition is exhaustive, or merely inclusive? In the case of a merely inclusive definition, then the inability to have regard to the defined term must be diminished, because there will be, ex hypothesi, things which fall within the defined term but do not fall within the (non-exhaustive) definition.
3. Does it matter whether the definition is based on ordinary English words which have a clear meaning (such as "dangerous recreational activity"), or is an artificial term with no meaning apart from the regime established in the legislation?
4. Does the question turn on whether the definition is ambiguous?
Returning to general principles, it is unquestionably circular, as the High Court said in Shin Kobe Maru, to construe the words in a definition by reference to the term defined. But that, with the utmost respect, is not necessarily inapt. A definition in a statute is not like a definition in a subroutine or a formula in a spreadsheet, which has to be executed unintelligently by a machine. The process of giving legal meaning to legislative language is utterly different. An iterative approach to contractual construction is familiar, not least from Lord Grabiner's article, "The iterative process of contractual interpretation" (2012) 128 LQR 41. And indeed some who have thought carefully about the way language works have referred in this context to a hermeneutic circle. Campbell JA said in Thomas v State of New South Wales (2008) 74 NSWLR 34; [2008] NSWCA 316 at [22] (reiterated in Nau v Kemp & Associates Pty Ltd (2010) 77 NSWLR 687; [2010] NSWCA 164 at [31] and AVS Group of Companies Pty Ltd v Commissioner of Police (2010) 78 NSWLR 302; [2010] NSWCA 81 at [133]):
"... statutory construction is a particular application of the concept of the hermeneutic circle, familiar in other areas of discourse. That concept is that understanding of the parts is dependent upon understanding the larger whole, but the larger whole can only be understood on the basis of the parts, so that arriving at an understanding of any particular part involves movement to and fro between the parts and the whole."
Fundamentally, the statute is to be read as a whole, having regard to context in the first instance. If what was said in Shin Kobe Maru be applied literally, then regard should be had to every word of the statute and its context except every reference to every defined term. That seems improbable, especially since it is to be expected that parliamentary counsel will choose defined terms so as to assist, rather than trip up, the reader. For that reason, I respectfully consider that there is real force in the proposition in Interpretation reproduced above that there is a difference between a statutory definition that "pets means dogs and cats" as opposed to "animals means dogs and cats" as opposed to "Word 1 means dogs and cats".
Putting to one side questions of authority, I respectfully consider that there is much to be said against a one-size-fits-all rule. Statutes are multifarious, there are different forms of statutory definitions, and language is very complicated. Windeyer J seems to have been alert to this when he said, in Brown v Brook (1971) 125 CLR 275 at 285-286; [1971] HCA 30, rejecting a mechanistic approach:
"In this sense it can be said that the definition yields to the context: but I prefer to base my conclusion rather on the words of Lord Denman CJ in Reg v Justices of Cambridgeshire (1838) 7 Ad & E 480 at 491 (112 ER 551 at 555):
'We apprehend that an interpretation clause is not to receive so rigid a construction; that it is not to be taken as substituting one set of words for another, nor as strictly defining what the meaning of a word must be under all circumstances.
We rather think that it merely declares what persons may be comprehended within that term, where the circumstances require that they should.'"
Unfortunately, this important issue was wholly untouched in the appellant's written submissions, and less than fully explored in oral submissions. There are very real limits on the ability of an intermediate appellate court to address all aspects of the matters mentioned above, but in the absence of anything like full argument on the point, it is inappropriate even to attempt to do so.
Returning to the appeal, I was unpersuaded by the appellant's submissions to depart from the construction reached in Goode v Angland. That comes about because the submissions did not address most of this Court's reasoning. Further, even if one were to proceed on the basis that the stricture in Shin Kobe Maru at 419 is inapplicable, such that the word "recreational" which is part of the defined term informs the meaning of the definition, I do not see how that undercuts the generality of "any sport", or the studied repetition of "any" commencing each of the three limbs, or the decision by the Legislature to include two additional limbs in the definition, over and above what was proposed by the Ipp Report.
That resolves the first and principal ground of appeal.
The appellant's second main submission was directed to whether his injury amounted to harm suffered by him as a result of the materialisation of an obvious risk. He submitted that while "it is undoubtedly obvious that at any time on any occasion that somebody mounts a horse there is a risk of a fall", s 5L did not apply on the facts of this case. It was said, at first, that there had been "deliberate" conduct by the defendant. When it was pointed out that the claim had been confined to negligence, counsel submitted that the defendant's conduct should be regarded as "grossly reckless as to the outcome", with the defendant "throw[ing] caution to the wind and abruptly and sharply swerv[ing] to his left and creat[ing] a space where none could ever have been". The difference depends on one's perspective. An action may be "deliberate" but its consequences may be regarded as merely negligent or reckless. Much of what a jockey does in controlling a horse is "deliberate" - although given the time frames available, no doubt much is instinctive too. A jockey (or for that matter the driver of a vehicle) may deliberately change lanes, without due regard to his or her surrounds, and the consequence may be negligent or reckless driving. After all, as King CJ observed, in a passage approved in Baumer v The Queen (1988) 166 CLR 51 at 57; [1988] HCA 67, the typical dangerous driver does not expect to be involved in a serious accident: R v Johnston (1985) 38 SASR 582 at 586. There are no doubt important distinctions, for the purposes of the rules of racing, between racing which is "careless" or "reckless" (or "improper" or even "foul"). But the obviousness of a risk of harm raises different issues.
Although the trial had proceeded with neither side's pleadings identifying any "risk of harm" (despite this being an element of the negligence alleged by the plaintiff and the defence under s 5L pleaded by the defendant), the risk of a jockey shifting out deliberately or recklessly had been advanced in the plaintiff's written submissions served shortly in advance of trial. I am content to proceed, favourably to the appellant, on that basis.
I sought to analyse how the risk of harm should be characterised for the purposes of s 5L in Menz v Wagga Wagga Show Society Inc [2020] NSWCA 65 at [43]-[79], especially at [70]-[74]. I do not think anything in Menz is inconsistent with Basten JA's reasons under the heading "Nature of risk". In particular, as Basten JA explains at [62], there is no reason for fine distinctions differentiating species of unsafe riding to play a role in the characterisation of risk, which is to be considered prospectively from the perspective of the plaintiff (as noted in Menz at [72]).
The obviousness of a risk is a question of fact. The premise of horseracing is that jockeys will compete and ride their horses aggressively. The primary judge reproduced inherently plausible evidence that jockeys regularly "push[ed] the boundaries" in order to give themselves the best chance of winning, and that the statistics for frequency of careless riding charges reflected "the circumstance that jockeys are trying to do the best they can and push up at least to the edge of what's permissible": at [19]. The respondent's riding, although it led to a finding of guilt to a charge of careless riding, was relatively commonplace. Hundreds of jockeys were found guilty of careless riding each year, as the primary judge noted, by reference to the evidence, at [83]. All this must have been known to all professional jockeys. As the defendant submitted at trial:
"Careless riding suspensions result from approximately one in every fifteen professional horse races in NSW. Shifting out, as the defendant was alleged to have done, is a common basis for a careless riding charge. Physical contact between horses occurs in many, if not most, horse races. Horses falling as a result of physical contact occurs regularly. Jockeys being injured as a result also, unfortunately, often occurs. In some instances falls occur as a result of breaches of the rules of racing. In other cases there is no breach. In both cases the risk is obvious."
The fact that the defendant "recklessly" or even "deliberately" caused his horse to come into contact with a competitor does not alter its obviousness. The primary judge reproduced the following evidence at [85]:
"Q. It is expected, when a jockey goes out for a horse race, that there may be some degree of contact between horses? Correct?
A. Correct.
Q. It's expected that there may be a degree of contact between horses, which is within the rules. Correct?
A. Yes.
Q. It's expected that there may be a degree of contact between horses which isn't within the rules. Correct?
A. Yes."
I see no reason to doubt that the risk of a fall from a horse which came into contact with another horse following the careless riding of another jockey answers the description of the materialisation of an obvious risk of competing in a race. True it is that one might invoke notions of "gross negligence" or recklessness or even deliberateness to describe the respondent's riding, but the issue posed by s 5L turns not so much on the range of ways by which the risk may be characterised, but whether the risk of a fall as a result of another jockey's careless riding, constituted by deliberately making contact with another horse, and contrary to the rules of racing, was the materialisation of an obvious risk. I think it is. I see no reason to doubt the findings, based on testimonial evidence and statistics, made by the primary judge at [86]:
"There must also be in every race a risk that a jockey, feeling the obligation to give his mount its best chance in the race and having to make split-second judgments about how he should ride in order to achieve this, will ride in a manner that he knows will exceed the rule and that, in the event, proves to be dangerous. There must always be a risk that through poor judgment a jockey will urge his mount forward in the hope of easing a competitor out of the way without infringement of the rules, or predicting that in some other way a run will open up, and then finds himself in a situation of danger from which he will seek to escape by pushing the competitor heavily and carelessly aside."
It does not follow that any injury suffered by a jockey falling from a horse in a race will be caught by s 5L. Although obvious risks are all too familiar, there are also risks which are not obvious. Suppose the occupier of a racetrack was found to have negligently permitted rabbits to burrow under the course, and a horse fell when it put its hoof in a burrow. Although every case will be question of fact, it seems probable that that would not be the materialisation of an obvious risk.
For those reasons, and also those given by Basten JA under the heading "Nature of risk", and by Payne JA, with each of which I agree, these grounds are not made out. I also agree with what Basten JA has said concerning the balance of the appeal.
PAYNE JA: I have read the judgments of Basten JA, Leeming JA, McCallum JA and Simpson AJA in draft. I agree with the reasons of Basten JA and Leeming JA which I do not understand to be inconsistent. I wish to add some additional reasons of my own about the risk here engaged and the obviousness of that risk.
In Fallas v Mourlas (2006) 65 NSWLR 418; [2006] NSWCA 32, Basten JA described this question of obvious risk this way:
"[156] There remains a question as to the level of precision with which the risk is defined and the particularity of the circumstances which are taken into account. In that respect, s 5F causes a number of difficulties. For example, sub-s(4) provides that a risk can be obvious even if the condition or circumstance that gives rise to the risk 'is not prominent, conspicuous or physically observable'. In the present case, the risk involves two elements: the first is that the gun be loaded and the second that it be pointed towards the plaintiff. Furthermore, sub-s (3) states that a risk can be obvious 'even though it has a low probability of occurring'.
[157] Reading s 5F as a whole, there must have been risk that there was a bullet in the pistol prior to its discharge, even though the defendant assured the plaintiff that there was not. The fact that the presence of the bullet was not physically observable by the plaintiff is not fatal to that conclusion. Similarly, there was, prior to the discharge of the gun, a risk that the defendant would point it at the plaintiff, even though that would be a careless act, done in contravention of standard rules for the handling of firearms. Although there was no evidence of it, the plaintiff might have believed that the defendant was experienced, careful and responsible in his handling of firearms. But even if he had, that would merely mean that the risk of an accidental pointing of the gun was probably low. It would remain an obvious risk.
[158] It follows, in my view, that the risk which materialised, namely the accidental discharge of a firearm whilst pointed at the plaintiff, was 'an obvious risk' whatever the knowledge, belief and circumstances which existed immediately prior to the discharge."
Although dissenting in the result, Tobias JA agreed with the conclusion of Basten JA about the specification of risk and whether it was obvious:
"[108] It may well be that in some cases a risk which materialises as a consequence of the gross negligence of a defendant may not be obvious in the relevant sense as Ipp JA recognises (at 428 [54] supra). However, in the particular circumstances of the present case, and accepting that the appellant's conduct was grossly negligent, the risk of harm materialising from that conduct would have been apparent to and recognised by a reasonable person in the position of the respondent as likely to result in the pistol being discharged."
Ipp JA, who disagreed with the conclusion reached by Basten JA about risk on the facts in Fallas v Mourlas, nevertheless held at [55]:
"[55] I would add that the question is not whether it was obvious that there was a risk that the very facts that did in fact materialise could materialise. Rather, it is whether there was an obvious risk that that kind of thing might materialise."
The approach that the risk with which we are concerned in this case should be assessed at a reasonable level of generality has been applied consistently by this Court.
In Liverpool Catholic Club Ltd v Moor [2014] NSWCA 394 the Court approached the identification of the relevant risk on the basis that it should be identified with an appropriate level of generality. Meagher JA (with whom Emmett JA and Tobias AJA agreed) found that the primary judge had erred by identifying the risk for the purposes of ss 5F, 5G or 5L of the Civil Liability Act 2002 (NSW) at a level which was too specific. Meagher JA said:
"[24] The risk which is the subject of the inquiry called for by s 5F is that which is the subject of the claim for damages to which the provisions of Pt 1A of the CL Act are to be applied by s 5A(1). In CG Maloney Pty Ltd v Hutton-Potts [2006] NSWCA 136 at [173] - [174], Bryson JA (McColl JA agreeing) described that risk as that which 'matured' and 'caused [the plaintiff's] injury'. The forward-looking inquiry required by s 5F is whether that risk of harm would have been obvious in the relevant sense to the hypothetical reasonable person in the circumstances of the plaintiff: Streller v Albury City Council [2013] NSWCA 348 at [31] (Meagher JA, Ward and Emmett JJA agreeing)."
After finding that the trial judge in that case had defined the risk by reference to matters which were not relevant to the injury suffered, Meagher JA concluded:
"[39] These errors make it necessary for this Court to consider the question of 'obvious risk'. The risk of harm which materialised and caused the respondent's injury was that of slipping and falling whilst descending the stairs in skate boots. There were, on the evidence, two conditions or circumstances which gave rise to that risk. The first was, as the primary judge accepted at [84], that the activity of descending stairs carries an 'ever-present' risk of falling because of overstepping or losing balance. The second was that the respondent was wearing ice skates which meant that the blade of the skate was all that was in contact with the floor or stair surface. That was likely to affect adversely the respondent's stability or balance. More significantly, because the length of the skate blade exceeded the length of the stair tread, the full length of the blade could not be placed on the tread unless it was placed at an angle to the direction in which the stairs were facing. This meant, as Mr Burn accepted in his second report, that unless an adult wearing skate boots adopted the 'duck walk' over stepping would occur resulting in a fall.
[40] The respondent was 18 years of age. He was not familiar with the appellant's ice rink and was a relatively inexperienced skater. He was wearing a size 13 skate boot, the blade of which was significantly longer than the tread of any of the stairs. It would have been apparent to a person in his position that the risk of falling when walking down the stairs was significantly heightened by the fact that he was wearing skating boots. His only contact with the surface of the stairs was with the skate blade, making it more difficult for him to maintain his balance, and that blade was much longer than ordinary shoes and longer than the stair treads. Each of those matters also was readily apparent. In addition the fact that there were balancing and other difficulties in descending the stairs in those boots was easily observed from the actions of the patrons who descended whilst the respondent was standing at the top of the stairs.
[41] The primary judge erred in not finding that the risk of harm was 'obvious' within the meaning of s 5F. That is the position, irrespective of whether the relevant risk is described as including that of slipping and falling on stairs that are or are likely to be wet."
In Kempsey Shire Council v Five Star Medical Centre Pty Ltd (2018) 99 NSWLR 98; [2018] NSWCA 308 Basten JA, (with whom McColl JA and Simpson AJA agreed on this point) said (at [11]-[12]):
"[11] The concept of an 'obvious risk' long pre-dated the enactment of the Civil Liability Act. However, under the general law, the obviousness of a risk was not an answer to a claim in negligence. Although it was an important consideration in many circumstances, the question to be asked, in all cases, remained what a reasonable response required from the defendant in the particular circumstances [see, for example, Thompson v Woolworths (Q'land) Pty Ltd (2005) 221 CLR 234; [2005] HCA 19 at [36] (Gleeson CJ, McHugh, Kirby, Hayne and Heydon JJ)]. The Civil Liability Act has changed the law in that respect; subject to the cases excluded by s 5H(2), s 5H(1) removes any duty to warn of an obvious risk.
[12] Further, the test of obviousness is objective and does not turn on the subjective knowledge or beliefs of the plaintiff: s 5F(1). Taken in the context provided by s 5G(2), that suggests that the risk should be assessed at a reasonable level of generality."
In Menz v Wagga Wagga Show Society Inc [2020] NSWCA 65 Leeming JA, with whom White JA and I agreed, made the following observations about the nature of an obvious risk at [70]-[74]:
1. the obvious risk is in principle to be specified with a degree of generality. There may well be no single "correct" specification of the obvious risk, and the statute proceeds on the basis that a greater level of generality is sufficient;
2. the specification of the obvious risk must be sufficiently precise as to capture the harm which resulted from its materialisation on the facts of the particular case. If it is too generally expressed, such that the nature of what occurred is mischaracterised, then a greater degree of specificity is required;
3. a combination of foresight and hindsight is in play here. The obviousness of the risk is to be considered from the perspective of the plaintiff, prior to the incident occurring. However, the causal connection can only be satisfied after the risk has materialised and the resulting harm has been suffered, and determining the appropriate level of particularity in the formulation of the risk of harm requires looking at the position with the benefit of hindsight;
4. there is much to be said for the view that "as a result of" in s 5L, in a context which speaks of harm materialising from an obvious risk, requires a close causal connection between the harm and the risk which materialises. The section is directed to harm which materialises as a result of a risk of which the plaintiff ought reasonably to have known. If the risk is obvious, it may be expected that there is a close causal connection between the risk which materialises and the harm; and
5. the proper characterisation is fact-dependent, and will turn on the evidence in any particular case of what occurred, and why the risk is one that is obvious.
In the present case the relevant "risk of harm" was found by the primary judge (at [72]) to be "the risk of [the appellant's] mount falling, bringing him to the ground and causing him injury". This reflects an assessment of risk at a "reasonable level of generality" in accordance with the cases described above. It is a specification of the obvious risk which is sufficiently precise to capture the harm which resulted from its materialisation on the facts of the particular case. The risk of being injured falling from a horse in a race was objectively plainly obvious.
The appellant's alternative formulation of the relevant risk in the written submissions both at trial and on appeal was as follows:
"[The] risk of harm that eventuated is a risk that another rider would deliberately ride [his] horse so as to cause reckless or deliberate contact with an adjoining horse, in circumstances where [the first] horse was 'boxed' or 'pocketed', in a manner that was plainly contrary to the rules of racing."
This formulation is both too specific and insufficiently precise. The appellant's suggested formulation does not actually address the risk which materialised, let alone at an appropriate level of generality. The appellant was injured by falling from his horse whilst riding in a packed field of other horses. Whilst interference caused by the respondent, which I will describe in greater detail below, provides an explanation for the commencement of the chain of events that led to the appellant's injury, the appellant's formulation leaves out the immediate cause or mechanism by which the injury was actually suffered; falling from his horse. A formulation of the risk of harm which leaves out altogether the "true source of potential injury" (Roads and Traffic Authority of New South Wales v Dederer (2007) 234 CLR 330; [2007] HCA 42 at [60]) and the "general causal mechanism of the injury sustained" (Perisher Blue Pty Ltd v Nair-Smith (2015) 90 NSWLR 1; [2015] NSWCA 90 at [98]), is not an appropriate formulation of the risk of harm.
The primary judge understood this problem with the appellant's formulation. His Honour accepted that the respondent deliberately rode his horse so as to come into contact with the adjoining horse, ridden by Mr Ryan. It was Mr Ryan's horse which then caused interference to the appellant's mount, causing it to fall with consequent injury to the appellant. On this alternative characterisation, the primary judge treated (at [81]) the risk of harm as the risk that another jockey "would ride carelessly in breach of r 137(a) [of the Australian Rules of Racing] by riding out from the rail, carrying another horse [Mr Ryan's horse] with him, thereby causing the second horse [Mr Ryan's horse] to intrude on the rightful running of the [appellant's] mount and bring him down, causing injury."
The primary judge concluded about this alternative formulation of the risk:
"[78] In the terminology of the [appellant's] formulation of the risk that materialised, I find that the [respondent] rode [his mount] Darcey to cause 'deliberate contact with an adjoining horse', namely [Mr Ryan's mount] Decoree. I am satisfied that this was careless riding contrary to the Australian Rules of Racing. I find that it was not excused as a manoeuvre necessary to avoid clipping the heels of [the horse in front of him] Try to Please because the [respondent] was careless to have urged his mount forward to a position where those were his only alternatives. However, I am not satisfied on the balance of probabilities that in proceeding to this dangerous position, or in pushing heavily against Decoree to get himself out of it, the defendant's riding was reckless in the sense of the defendant recognising the risk of harm to another horse and/or rider and proceeding with his actions indifferent to whether or not such harm should result."
I agree with Basten JA that it may be concluded that the respondent's riding in the race where the appellant fell was properly to be characterised as reckless. That conclusion, however, does not avail the appellant here. The relevant risk which materialised in this case was that the appellant fell from his mount. That fall was caused by contact with another horse, being contact which in turn resulted from the riding of the respondent. The precise degree of negligence of the respondent's riding, including whether it is characterised as "gross negligence" or even "reckless", was not an essential element of the characterisation of the risk. The primary judge's conclusion was that the alternative formulation he proposed involved an obvious risk; the same conclusion is reached even if the respondent's negligence is described as "gross" or his conduct characterised as "reckless".
On this alternative formulation of the relevant risk, including the conclusion that the respondent's conduct was "reckless", there was abundant evidence at the trial that the risk was obvious. It bears emphasis at the outset that it is not to the point that "reckless" riding during a race by other jockeys leading to the appellant's horse falling had a low probability of occurring: s 5F(3). It is not correct that if the risk is proven to be a rare one, or not within the scope of what a participant was entitled to have "expected", it is therefore not an obvious risk.
Mr Ryan, who was riding the horse the immediate subject of the interference caused by the respondent, whose mount thereby shifted out causing the appellant's horse to fall, gave evidence in the appellant's case which was accepted by the primary judge. Mr Ryan had by that time been a leading professional jockey in Australia for 28 years. His Honour said of Mr Ryan's evidence:
"[27] … He was called by the plaintiff as a witness to the events of the race rather than to give opinion evidence as a qualified expert. Some of his evidence did, however, involve expressions of opinion. Having regard to Mr Ryan's experience and accomplishments and taking into account my assessment of his objectivity as a witness, his opinions are entitled to considerable weight."
Fairly understood, Mr Ryan's evidence provided compelling support for the proposition that it was obvious to any reasonable participant in the Tamworth race where the appellant was injured that there was a risk that another rider would ride carelessly or recklessly in breach of r 137(a) of the Rules of Racing by riding out from the rail, carrying another horse [Mr Ryan's horse] with him, thereby causing the second horse [Mr Ryan's horse] to intrude on the rightful running of the [appellant's] mount and bring him down, causing him injury.
The high point of the appellant's submission about obvious risk was the view expressed in Mr Ryan's witness statement that the appellant "couldn't have predicted what [the respondent] did, no one could have predicted that". There are two problems for the appellant with this evidence. As I have said, the conclusion that no one "could have predicted" that the respondent would ride as he did does not address the question posed by the statute. In determining whether the relevant risk was an obvious one, it does not matter that the risk of the respondent riding as he did had a low probability of occurring. Secondly, this expression of opinion by Mr Ryan did not survive cross-examination.
At every race meeting there is an ambulance. Mr Ryan had been involved in 20 or 30 race falls where he himself had fallen from his mount during a race. While Mr Ryan distinguished falls from injuries, about injuries he said:
"Q. And that's because injuries to jockeys are part and parcel of horseracing, aren't they?
A. Well, you'd probably expect to get injured at sometime in your career, yeah."
Jockeys in professional horseracing in Australia are principally remunerated for success in races. Achieving success involves pushing the boundaries of what is permissible under the Rules of Racing:
"Q. But if you want to be a successful jockey, then you have to, in effect, push the envelope on what you do in order to give your horse the best chance of winning, don't you?
A. If you're going to compete, yes, you push the boundaries, yes."
The boundaries of what is permissible are fixed by the Rules of Racing. The respondent cannot be criticised for the approach at the trial to the Rules of Racing, it being a topic introduced by the appellant's formulation of the relevant risk.
For present purposes, the Rules of Racing prohibit interference between horses caused by "careless, reckless, improper, incompetent or foul" riding: Rules of Racing r 137(a). In horse races in New South Wales up to 20 thoroughbreds race at between 65 to 70 kilometres per hour in close formation around a track for prize money. Mr Ryan identified two principal types of interference that occur in the course of a race. Interference caused by other runners usually involves either a jockey permitting or directing his or her mount to "shift in" towards the rail around the track when insufficiently clear of horses closer to the rail (whether adjacent or behind) thereby causing interference to those horses or a jockey permitting or directing his or her mount to "shift out" away from the rail around the track when insufficiently clear of horses further away from the rail (whether adjacent or behind) thereby causing interference to those horses.
In the present case the respondent's mount was "pocketed" by Mr Ryan's mount. Mr Ryan's horse was travelling alongside the respondent's horse, further from the rail, keeping the respondent's mount in a pocket such that he could not accelerate and potentially win the race. Being "pocketed" meant that the respondent could not urge his horse forward keeping the line he was running as there were other horses in front of him on that line travelling more slowly than his mount. There was insufficient room closer to the rail to permit the respondent to urge his horse to overtake those slower horses on the inside. "Pocketing" the respondent was a legitimate tactic by Mr Ryan designed to ensure that the respondent's mount did not finish ahead of his mount and potentially deprive Mr Ryan and the connections of his horse of moneys which might otherwise accrue.
The respondent was permitted by the Rules of Racing to cause his mount to contact Mr Ryan's mount to attempt to force it wider from the rail allowing the respondent's mount clear running to the winning post. The respondent was not, however, permitted to force Mr Ryan's mount wider on the track in circumstances where Mr Ryan's mount was in danger of interfering with horses outside and behind it - as the appellant's mount was here. Mr Ryan's evidence made clear that it is permissible for a jockey deliberately to cause his or her mount to contact another mount in an attempt to pressure that second horse to move off its course and permit the first horse a clear run at the leading horses:
"Q. It is expected, when a jockey goes out for a horse race, that there may be some degree of contact between horses? Correct?
A. Correct.
Q. It's expected that there may be a degree of contact between horses, which is within the rules. Correct?
A. Yes.
Q. It's expected that there may be a degree of contact between horses which isn't within the rules. Correct?
A. Yes.
Q. What you may not know is precisely how there may be contact between horses until that actually occurs? Correct?
A. That's fair enough, yep.
Q. But the expectation that there can be conduct, including, as a result of careless riding is part and parcel of racing in a competitive horse race, isn't it?
A. Yeah, I think the trouble with the rule is the careless riding rule is it's too widely interpreted. There's two different rules, there's careless riding and there's improper riding. As you went, with your statistics here earlier, not very often the improper rule is enforced, it's mostly careless riding, but I'm not saying Glenn went out to hurt [Hari], no way in the world he did, but careless riding, you know, is - if you want to use the correct terminology, it's when you've unintentionally caused interference and I'm not saying that Glenn intentionally caused interference here but he did have the intent. The intent was for him to get out and when his efforts to get out were foiled, well, then, the intent got greater."
The fact, as Mr Ryan opined, that "not very often the improper rule is enforced" is beside the point. It does not matter that "reckless", "foul" or "improper" riding during a race by other jockeys leading to the appellant's horse falling had a low probability of occurring. The identification by r 137(a) of the Australian Rules of Racing of conduct which may be understood as an ascending scale of prohibited riding is a demonstration of the existence of the risk of such riding, even if serious breaches such as "improper" or "reckless" riding had a low probability of occurring. Mr Ryan gave evidence that on hundreds of occasions every year, jockeys are charged and suspended under the rule which prohibits riding which is "careless, reckless, improper, incompetent or foul". Usually, the charges involve "careless" riding. The right of a jockey to participate in his or her occupation may be withdrawn by the stewards for weeks or even months at a time, depending, at least in part, on the seriousness of the interference they have caused. Mr Ryan explained that "the majority of careless riding charges is where someone's allowed their mount to shift". For example, Mr Ryan explained that at Gilgandra on 28 July 2012 the appellant was charged with careless riding for permitting his mount to "shift in" 200 metres prior to the conclusion of the race. The affected horse, Dodge Tyne, was behind the appellant. By reason of the appellant's "shifting in" without a sufficiently clear space, Dodge Tyne blundered, but the rider was not dislodged.
Mr Ryan disagreed that most careless riding charges involve attempts of the kind made by the respondent here to obtain clear running by "shifting out" causing interference to horses further away from the running rail. Mr Ryan did, however, agree that a "percentage" of careless riding charges involved a jockey attempting to obtain clear running by "shifting out". At the risk of repetition, the fact that an aggressive manoeuvre by a jockey to "shift out" had a low probability of occurring does not lead to a conclusion that the risk of it occurring is not obvious.
The trial judge clarified with Mr Ryan what he meant about a percentage of careless riding charges involving a jockey attempting to obtain clear running:
"Q. But that's not a majority of the instances of careless riding in your experience?
A. The majority of careless riding charges, in my experience, would more likely to be someone trying to get in close to the running rail from the barriers because once you start turning, the wider you are on the track, the more ground - you've all seen the Olympics, the staggered starts - well, the idea is the closer you can be to the running rail, the less distance you're going to have to run, the more likely you are to win the race.
Q. And in your experience, you're saying the majority of careless riding charges occur with a jockey trying to move his mount over towards the rail and failing to have checked behind him that he could do it clearly without-
A. To save ground. But there is a percentage where - of careless riding charges - where the person's tried to shift out and has interfered shifting out also."
Mr Ryan agreed that the possibility that a jockey's mount would be the victim of interference caused by another jockey arose in every race:
"A. So you're asking - so you're saying [the appellant] should accept possibly that there would be interference to him?
Q. Yes.
A. Well, you're right.
Q. That's a possibility in every race, isn't it?
A. Yes, it is."
Mr Ryan illustrated the risks of a serious fall being caused by interference by reference to a recent fall in the Mudgee Cup:
"Q. Do you recall being involved in a fall at the Mudgee Cup?
A. Yes.
Q. Was that a serious fall?
A. Yes.
Q. Are you able to tell his Honour what you understand the cause of that fall might have been?
A. The cause of that fall, at the conclusion of the stewards inquiry, was that Tony Cavello [a jockey] insufficiently crossed - I can't remember the name of the rider now - causing that horse to fall. And then myself, [the respondent] and Cody Nestor [another jockey] all come over the top of that mount.
Q. [The respondent] was injured in that fall, wasn't he?
A. He was, yes.
HIS HONOUR
Q. When you say, 'crossed', is this somebody trying to cross to the rail?
A. He shifts when it's insufficiently clear, yeah. Careless riding breach.
WARD
Q. And the stewards treated that as a careless riding incident, did they?
A. Yes."
Mr Ryan agreed that he understood there to be a possibility, when he went out onto a racecourse to ride in a race, that he might be subject to interference caused by the actions of a fellow jockey leading his mount to fall and that he might suffer injury or death:
"Q. But there is a possibility, when you go out onto a racecourse to ride in a highly competitive race, that you might be killed in the race. You know that, don't you?
A. I've been - I've had about 20,000 rides, and I've been in one race where someone's died, yes.
Q. But it's a reality, isn't it?
A. Well, that was, yeah.
Q. But there are falls in many more races than people are killed?
A. Yes.
Q. In the real world, you know when you go out to ride in a race, that there may be interference which causes a fall. Correct?
A. Correct."
Mr Ryan gave compelling evidence that riding of the kind engaged in by the respondent, which Mr Ryan had said no one could have "predicted", was an objective risk faced by the appellant here:
"Q. This isn't the first time you've seen that sort of incident on a racecourse, is it?
A. No, it's not.
Q. It happens all the time, doesn't it?
A. Not all the time, no.
Q. No, but often enough?
A. Well, yeah, it does happen, yeah."
That evidence is dispositive of the present question even on the alternative formulation of risk. Mr Ryan's evidence established that the respondent's conduct was not reasonable or, as he put it "expected" or able to be "predicted", but it was conduct that did occur during races. The fact that it had a low probability of occurring is not relevant. It was an obvious risk.
The evidence of the expert called by the appellant in the case, Mr Murrihy, did not address this issue at all. The only potentially relevant questions asked of Mr Murrihy were the following:
"2.1.2 Was the conduct of Mr Lynch contrary to the relevant racing rules that applied to the race?
2.1.3 Did the conduct of Mr Lynch expose Mr Singh to a reasonably foreseeable risk of injury?
2.1.4 Your opinion as former chief as whether a rider in the circumstances of Mr Lynch were he exercising reasonable care would not have caused the interference leading to Mr Singh's injury.
2.1.5 Your expert opinion as a Steward as to any other relevant matters."
The closest Mr Murrihy's report came to addressing the relevant question was the following passage:
"10.9 The actions of Mr Lynch in attempting to force a run between Try to Please and Decoree where there was no room to do so were deliberate and extremely forceful. His actions were outside the conduct of a jockey acting in a responsible manner and in my opinion were unexpected, unreasonable and also unnecessary as he could have remained racing on the back of Try to Please. There was no discernible shift of other horses that might otherwise influence Darcys movement."
It may be accepted that the respondent's riding was "unexpected, unreasonable and also unnecessary". That conclusion does not address the alternative formulation of the risk, nor the obviousness of that risk.
I agree with the orders proposed by Basten JA.
McCALLUM JA and SIMPSON AJA: We have read in draft the judgments of Basten JA and Leeming JA, in which the relevant facts and applicable statutory provisions are fully set out. We have reached a different conclusion as to the disposition of the appeal. Since preparing these reasons, we have also read in draft the judgment of Payne JA. We adhere to the views here expressed.
The relevant provisions of the Civil Liability Act 2002 (NSW) all appear in Part 1A thereof, which is concerned with negligence. For convenience, we set out again the provisions of the Act that are relevant to these reasons:
5F Meaning of "obvious risk"
(1) For the purposes of this Division, an obvious risk to a person who suffers harm is a risk that, in the circumstances, would have been obvious to a reasonable person in the position of that person.
(2) …
(3) A risk of something occurring can be an obvious risk even though it has a low probability of occurring.
(4) …
...
5K Definitions
In this Division-
dangerous recreational activity means a recreational activity that involves a significant risk of physical harm.
obvious risk has the same meaning as it has in Division 4 [section 5F appears in Div 4 of Pt 1A].
recreational activity includes-
(a) any sport (whether or not the sport is an organised activity), and
(b) any pursuit or activity engaged in for enjoyment, relaxation or leisure, and
(c) any pursuit or activity engaged in at a place (such as a beach, park or other public open space) where people ordinarily engage in sport or in any pursuit or activity for enjoyment, relaxation or leisure.
5L No liability for harm suffered from obvious risks of dangerous recreational activities
(1) A person (the defendant) is not liable in negligence for harm suffered by another person (the plaintiff) as a result of the materialisation of an obvious risk of a dangerous recreational activity engaged in by the plaintiff.
(2) This section applies whether or not the plaintiff was aware of the risk.
By ground 13 of the appeal the appellant sought to challenge the correctness of the decision of this Court in Goode v Angland (2017) 96 NSWLR 503; [2017] NSWCA 311, specifically the conclusion stated by Leeming JA at [211] (with the concurrence of Beazley P and Meagher JA) that:
"... Horseracing is a sport which engages the first limb of the definition of recreational activity in s 5K [of the Civil Liability Act 2002 (NSW)]." (italics in original)
Once it is established or accepted that horseracing is a sport within the meaning of the first limb of the definition in s 5K of the Civil Liability Act, s 5L precluded liability of the respondent in negligence for harm suffered by the appellant if that harm resulted from the materialisation of an obvious risk of horseracing.
There are two potential analyses of s 5L. One, discussed by Basten JA, involves the proposition that the provision presupposes a negligent act or omission on the part of one person (the defendant) that causes harm to another person (the plaintiff) in circumstances that would, on common law principles, be compensable. On that analysis, the effect of s 5L is to excuse the defendant from the consequences of the act or omission, that is, the obligation to compensate the plaintiff for the harm occasioned.
The alternative analysis is that, where a person (the plaintiff) engages in a pursuit or activity encompassed in the s 5K definition that carries a significant risk of physical harm that would have been obvious to a reasonable person in the position of the plaintiff, any duty of care to take precautions to avoid that harm that another person (the defendant) would otherwise have owed is nullified or, alternatively, any breach of that duty that causes harm is excused, provided that the harm resulted from risk of the kind that materialised.
On balance, we consider that the former analysis is more likely to be correct. The effect, where the s 5L conditions are satisfied, is to deprive the plaintiff of compensation to which he or she would otherwise have been entitled. That effect needs to be borne in mind in the determination of the factual issues that arise when s 5L is raised as a defence.
On any view, if all of the components of s 5L are established, a defendant has a complete defence to a claim in negligence. The components are:
1. that the plaintiff engaged in a recreational activity (as defined in s 5K);
2. that the recreational activity was a dangerous one (as also defined in s 5K);
3. that the plaintiff suffered harm;
4. that the dangerous recreational activity carried an obvious risk of harm;
5. that the harm suffered by the plaintiff resulted from the materialisation of such an obvious risk.
The onus of proving each component, or element, of the defence lies on the defendant. For the purposes of components (iv) and (v), it is necessary to identify, with some particularity, the risk of harm on which a plaintiff relies. That risk may be variably formulated, ranging from the very particular to the very general. Formulation of the risk can significantly affect the outcome of a proceeding in which s 5L is raised as a defence. While there may be some obvious risks, the essential inquiry is directed to the risk the materialisation of which the plaintiff asserts was the cause of injury (the risk that "that kind of thing might materialise": Fallas v Mourlas (2006) 65 NSWLR 418; [2006] NSWCA 32 at [55] per Ipp JA).
The adoption of alternatives in that formulation ("reckless or deliberate contact") was unfortunate but it is clear enough that the appellant intended to formulate a risk of harm based on recklessness. That is the basis on which the primary judge appears to have proceeded.
The primary judge implicitly rejected the appellant's formulation but held that, even if it were correct, the risk was nevertheless an obvious risk because it resulted from careless (as distinct from reckless) riding by the respondent. There is a hint in this that, had the respondent's conduct been characterised as reckless rather than merely careless, the risk would or might not have been found to have been an obvious one.
By grounds 8-11 the appellant challenged the formulation of the risk at the level of generality that the primary judge adopted. We agree that the risk of harm was formulated at an undue level of generality. As noted by Basten JA, it fails to identify a risk arising from potentially negligent conduct. The more specific formulation proposed by the appellant was apt.
That is not the end of the inquiry. Basten JA and Leeming JA have approached this question on the premise that "there is no reason for fine distinctions differentiating species of unsafe riding to play a role in the characterisation of risk". In our view, however, the identification of the relevant risk of harm must have some regard to the mechanism by which the relevant injury was caused. On the facts of this case, that inquiry calls attention to the manner of riding that caused the appellant's horse to fall. As explained in different terms by Ipp JA in Fallas v Mourlas at [54], the nature of the conduct that caused the harm informs the obviousness of the risk. The evidence in the present case established that there is a wide range of reasons a horse can be caused to stumble, involving risks of varying degrees of obviousness (one witness had once fallen during a race because his horse had a heart attack). Consideration of the risk of falling due to another jockey's manner of riding requires a prospective assessment of the risk of the kind of riding that caused the fall in this case.
As can be seen from the opening sentences of [74] and [78], the primary judge rejected the appellant's formulation of the risk of harm on the basis, as he then discussed, that, while the conduct of the respondent in causing Darcey to make contact with Decoree was "deliberate", it was not "reckless".
We agree with Basten JA that characterisation of the respondent's conduct as "careless" rather than "reckless" is not determinative. Turning to the fifth of Leeming JA's propositions, the evidence of "what occurred" was clear and not significantly in dispute. But the evidence said to establish "why the risk was obvious" was, in our opinion, far from clear. The respondent made, at most, a token attempt to specify the circumstances that he contended made the risk of injury to the appellant obvious. He did this by reference to Rule 137(a) of the Australian Rules of Racing, by which "careless, improper, incompetent or foul riding" may be penalised.
The Rules do not define the various categories of racing that are outlawed by Rule 137(a). The categories are of varying, and, generally, escalating degrees of gravity. The respondent limited his attempt to demonstrate the obviousness of the risk of injury caused by riding of the kind outlawed by that rule to various Annual Reports of "Racing NSW" containing statistics of "careless riding" charges which, it may be inferred, covered all categories of Rule 137(a) transgressions. There was no attempt to identify the incidence of "careless riding" as distinct from any of the other (more serious) categories. Still less was there any attempt to identify the kind of riding that gave rise to the charges and the penalties imposed. Such information would have been highly relevant to the assessment of the risk of harm (injury) the appellant could have anticipated. The Annual Reports did no more than provide bare numbers of transgressions.
Yet it is apparent, on the plain words of Rule 137(a), that there is potentially a wide range of conduct encompassed within the Rule, some of which may be a common occurrence (and thus within the scope of what a participant may reasonably be expected to anticipate and therefore "obvious") and some, at least, of which would be rare (and thus not necessarily within the scope of what a participant could reasonably be expected to anticipate).
In the application of s 5L it is as well not to lose sight of its purpose and effect. It is, as Leeming JA accepted in Menz, a "liability defeating" rule: that is, it was intended, in the circumstances stated, to deprive an injured plaintiff of compensation, to which he or she would otherwise have been entitled, for negligently inflicted injury. It should not be given an application beyond that for which it was intended: to excuse a defendant from the consequences of a negligent act or omission that results in injury to another, where exposure to injury arises from risks of the kind that the plaintiff might reasonably be expected to have anticipated and that materialised. Most particularly, it should not be given an application that effectively gives licence to individuals to engage in conduct that involves risk of harm beyond that which may reasonably be expected to be anticipated as part of the "pursuit or activity" in which the injured person voluntarily engages.
The question for present purposes is whether it would have been obvious to a reasonable person in the position of the appellant that another professional jockey would ride his horse in the manner that the primary judge found that the respondent did, that is, deliberately directing his horse to push sideways or "bump" against another horse so abruptly as to move that horse off her line of running and into the line of running of a third horse.
The jockey riding Decoree, Mr Greg Ryan, was the only participant in the race to give evidence. There was evidence that the appellant (who suffered a closed head injury) had no recollection of the race. The respondent did not give evidence. The primary judge described Mr Ryan's evidence as "frank and open and impressive": at [35]. His Honour noted that, although Mr Ryan was not called as an expert witness, some of his evidence involved expressions of opinion and that, in light of his experience and apparent objectivity, his opinions were entitled to "considerable weight": at [27].
In his evidentiary statement (which was adopted as his evidence-in-chief), Mr Ryan described the critical moments as follows:
"30. This buffeting went on for about 30 metres or so. I continued to hold my rightful running line. [The respondent] bumped me maybe 4 or 5 times during these 30 or so metres.
31. The rules of racing state that it is my responsibility to finish in the best possible position, and for me obviously the best possible position is to finish in front of [the respondent]. So, it is my obligation to hold [the respondent] in that pocket.
32. After failing to force his way out during this thirty or so metres, [the respondent] took his mount inwards (to the right) a bit to give himself some room. He then made what I would call an aggressive attempt to get out. He brings his horse hard to the left and makes heavy contact with my horse, causing my horse's hindquarters to abruptly shift out." (Emphasis added).
Later in the statement, Mr Ryan said:
"Everything before that more severe contact is within the usual practice of a jockey but when [the respondent] comes out and gives me that bigger bump, then that is when you are getting outside of what is acceptable practice."
Mr Ryan expressed the view that the appellant "couldn't have predicted what [the respondent] did, no one could have predicted that". He explained that when the respondent's intention was "spoilt" (by Mr Ryan's reaction to the "buffeting" of keeping Decoree on her rightful running line), the respondent became "more aggressive", saying "in the end, he has done it aggressively and it's a breach of the rules and not what you would be expecting."
As Leeming JA has noted, Mr Ryan agreed in cross-examination that it is to be expected, when a jockey rides in a horse race, that there may be some degree of contact between horses, some of which may be within the rules and some of which may not. However, Mr Ryan did not accept that careless riding is "part and parcel of racing in a competitive horse race". In the exchange following the passage extracted by the primary judge and repeated in the judgment of Leeming JA, Mr Ryan expressed the view that the careless riding rule is "too widely interpreted". He drew a distinction in that context between minimal contact between horses and more significant pressure, which he described as "the difference between being acceptable and unacceptable". He said:
"When you're making a gradual attempt to get out, it goes [scil: gives] other riders the opportunity to say, well, he's coming up and to take evasive action but when the attempt becomes more aggressive and it's an abrupt attempt, it doesn't give the riders like [the appellant] the opportunity to take evasive action."
Separately, Mr Ryan made the point that the appellant was behind him and may not have had a clear view of what the respondent was doing. Mr Ryan's evidence was that the respondent did not turn to look over his left shoulder before causing Darcey to bump Decoree to the left.
Mr Ryan was cross-examined as to the common incidence of careless riding in professional horseracing. He agreed that jockeys are charged and suspended for careless riding on hundreds of occasions every year. As already noted, statistics to that effect were in evidence in the form of extracts from a number of annual reports of Racing NSW but those statistics provided only the raw number of careless riding breaches for each of the relevant years. They provided no particulars of the manner of riding that attracted the penalty in any particular case. Mr Ryan said that, in his experience, the majority of careless riding charges resulted from jockeys allowing their mount to "shift" or trying to get in close to the rail so as to shorten the distance to be covered.
The appellant also called an expert witness, Mr Ray Murrihy, a professional stipendiary steward. In his report dated 11 December 2017, he described the critical manoeuvre as follows, based on his analysis of the video footage:
"9.8 [the respondent] using the home turn which gives the inside horse more leverage, can be observed riding his mount strongly and placing extreme pressure on Decoree in an attempt to force a run between Decoree and Try to Please by pushing Decoree out. This force continued for some six strides. The force of the pressure can be measured by the oblique angle of Decoree's body as that horse is pushed out of its running line. 'Blue Onyx' which was positioned a little over a half-length back on Decoree's outside in turn was being badly hampered and forced wider on the track due to the push coming from 'Darcy'.
9.9 Critically on the point of the home turn Decoree's hindquarters can be observed being pushed out due to a sharp and heavy contact coming from Darcy whose rider [the respondent] continued to ride and direct his mount out as he continued to attempt to force a run between Try to Please and Decoree where there was not sufficient room to do so. The near hindquarters of Decoree can be observed making contact with the off shoulder region of Blue Onyx which was some three quarters of a length back to the outside of that runner. The off fore leg of Darcy was contacted and knocked out from under it, due to the heavy bump from Decoree. In the incident Blue Onyx blundered and fell and its rider Mr Singh was dislodged and fell heavily to the track."
Importantly, that evidence confirmed the occurrence of "a sharp and heavy contact coming from Darcey" on the point of the home turn which caused Decoree's hindquarters to be pushed out.
In a joint report the experts agreed that careless riding charges "do occur from time to time" but Mr Murrihy added that each incident must be looked at "subjectively". In response to a question as to how routine it is for there to be interference in a horse race, the experts again agreed that interference occurs "from time to time" but stressed that there are "varying degrees of interference". They said that cases of jockeys being found guilty of causing falls are relatively rare.
For the purpose of identifying the risk that materialised, the primary judge accepted at [78] that the respondent rode Darcey to cause "deliberate contact with an adjoining horse" and was satisfied that this was careless riding.
In the circumstances of a horse race, where a number of horses are travelling at high speed in close proximity, such conduct carries a clear risk of collision, not only with the horse contacted, but with others, and with consequent risk to their jockeys. If the question whether, considered prospectively, the risk would have been obvious to a person in the position of the appellant is answered affirmatively, the elements of s 5L are complete and the respondent has a complete defence to the appellant's claim.
In our opinion, however, the answer to the question is not in the affirmative. In any race, a jockey must expect that there will be a level of careless riding on the part of other jockeys, and the evidence, discussed at some length in the primary judgment, showed that jockeys are routinely dealt with through disciplinary procedures for breaches of the Australian Rules of Racing and for careless riding. Riding of that character is an obvious risk for the purposes of s 5F, and well within s 5L.
The riding by the respondent, as accepted by the primary judge, was of another character. It involved deliberate and persistent riding by the respondent so as to cause, in the words of Mr Ryan, repeated "buffeting" of Darcey against Decoree followed by "an aggressive attempt to get out" in which the respondent brought Darcey "hard to the left" and made "heavy contact" with Decoree, causing Decoree's hindquarters "to abruptly shift out" to the left as the horses were moving into the home turn. That evidence was accepted in the findings of the primary judge.
As we understand Mr Ryan's evidence, he was emphasising two features of the respondent's riding that distinguished it in his experience. First, as noted above, he emphasised the abruptness of the contact he said was made between the two horses. It was more than the usual contact; it was an aggressive bump. Secondly, as noted above, he said that the majority of careless riding charges result from jockeys allowing their mounts to shift into the rail. Causing a horse to shift to the right into the rail when all of the horses are galloping in that same direction (clockwise) is a very different kind of act from causing a horse to bump to the left into the path of a horse that is galloping on a line of running that turns to the right. At the speed at which the horses were travelling (around 65 kph) and having regard to the fact that they were at the home turn, which is a turn to the right, a bump to the left of sufficient force to cause another horse's hindquarters to shift abruptly to the left carried a significant risk of causing another horse to stumble.
The risk that another jockey would so conduct himself or herself is not, in our opinion, one that "would have been obvious to a reasonable person in the position of" the appellant. The distinction is between careless riding (as outlawed by the Australian Rules of Racing) and a deliberate act of causing a horse to collide with another and push it off its line of running (which is also outlawed). While the former is an obvious risk of the sport of horseracing, the latter, in our opinion, is not. This distinction is in accord with the reasoning of Ipp JA in Fallas v Mourlas at [52]-[55] (extracted in the judgment of Basten JA) in which his Honour distinguished, for this purpose, between negligent conduct (the risk of which may be obvious) and grossly negligent conduct (the risk of which may not be obvious). The conduct of the respondent in this case was, at least, grossly negligent (in terms of the safety of the appellant) and not obvious.
That means that, in our judgment, the respondent failed to establish the fourth component of the s 5L defence, and, consequently, the fifth. It follows that the appellant's claim against the respondent was not defeated by s 5L of the Civil Liability Act.
See fn 8 above.
Rootes v Shelton at 386 (Barwick CJ).
Fallas at [44].
[2020] NSWCA 65.
Menz at [70]-[74].
Menz at [72].
Menz at [71].
Menz at [72].
Menz at [72].
The Council of the Shire of Wyong v Shirt (1980) 146 CLR 40 at 47 (Mason J); [1980] HCA 12.
Avenhouse v Hornsby Shire Council (1998) 44 NSWLR 1 at 8C.
Singh at [15].
Singh at [72].
Singh at [73].
Singh at [78], [80].
Singh at [81].
Tcpt, 14 August 2012, p 19, line 880.
Tcpt, p 23, line 1110.
Menz at [72] (Leeming JA, Payne and White JJA agreeing).