Now in its 7th edition, and edited by leading academic experts in tort law, Cases on Torts provides students of tort law with extracts from essential cases, both Australian and from other jurisdictions, illuminating the key principles of relevance or influence on modern Australian tort law.
The editors aim to build students’ essential legal skills in identifying, comprehending and evaluating the current law from primary sources of law. This also gives university lecturers flexibility in the design of individual torts courses around a core of significant cases. Each case is preceded by a short note and one or more questions to guide the student’s reading of the case. The book is intended to be sufficiently compact to allow students to carry and refer to it in classes.
Significant new case law includes cases dealing with fundamental common law principles, of importance in any common law jurisdiction, such as Minister for the Environment v Sharma [2022] FCAFC 35 on the duty of care in negligence or CFMEU v Personnel Contracting Pty Ltd [2022] HCA 1 on vicarious liability. Other new cases, such as Tapp v Australian Bushmen’s Campdraft & Association Ltd [2022] HCA 11, deal with the interpretation of the civil liability legislation enacted in each State and Territory and by the Commonwealth Parliament in response to recommendations contained in the Final Report of the Review of the Law of Negligence in 2002.
As with previous editions, this edition will have the benefit of the publisher’s website, where edited versions of new cases within the scope of the book may be accessed under Supplements.
Preface to the Seventh Edition
Table of Cases
Table of Statutes
1. Historical Background
2. Interference with the Person
3. Interference with Land
4. Interference with Goods
5. Negligence: Duty of Care
6. Negligence: Breach of Duty
7. Negligence: Causation and Scope of Liability
8. Public Nuisance
9. Defences
10. Damages for Personal Injuries
11. Death or Injury to a Third Party
12. Concurrent Liability
Reviews of previous editions:
In the words of the authors, this book, now in its fifth edition, “provides a collection of cases illuminating the principles of Australian tort law”. The primary audience of the book is the law student.
The book achieves a number of the authors’ aims. … The law student will find this book an excellent introduction to tort law, a useful supplement to their understanding and research of the area, and a helpful tool in preparing for examinations.
David Kim, Barrister, InPrint LIJ, March 2013
Casebooks have changed over the years. This one, though 480 pages long, is compact and relatively light to carry. It is a far cry from the house bricks that students of old had to lug about. It is a typical example of the Federation Press style: a durable, well-produced paperback, well suited to the student market.
…this is good one of its kind. It extracts 134 cases, mostly Australian, but with a sprinkling of landmark cases from other jurisdictions…its usefulness depends on the grouping of the cases, and this reflects the scholarship of the compilers. The valuable parts are the grouping of the cases, the brief case notes, and the tables of cases and statutes. These parts would also be of considerable value beyond the student market.
Australian Law Librarian, Vol 16 No 2, 2008
There are two apparently contradictory aphorisms which this book brings to mind. The first is that you are never too old to learn. The second is, that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. Happily this book pointed me towards the first of the two and, I hope, demonstrated the incorrectness of the second.
… the authors have very cleverly and succinctly drawn together the leading decisions
… The extracts from the cases contain no more than the material necessary to understand the point being made, but the accompanying brief editorial comments and headnotes tie the threads together in such a way as to enhance the reader’s understanding.
… Do not make the mistake of thinking that this is another text for students. It isn’t. Rather, it is a very useful tool in the armoury of anyone practicing in torts law. It will help improve our understanding of that law, enable us to more readily appreciate where it is heading and, importantly, explains why it is going there.
Law Society of Tasmania online newsletter, April 2007
The great strength of this casebook is its emphasis on modern Australian authorities. Since the second edition, 62 cases have been substituted with 41 cases … The law is always full of stories, some mundane, some macabre, some which almost defy belief. The cases selected by the editors of this book not only illustrate the principles of tort, but do so in some extraordinary and controversial circumstances.
Law Institute Journal (Vic), February 2003
A comprehensive collection highlighting the founding principles of Australian tort law … Cases are set out with clear reference to the nature and outcome of specific civil claims, while the publisher’s website makes provision for edited versions of most recent cases. The format with which cases are presented and explained makes this an ideal reference for Preliminary Legal Studies Part 1: The legal system – sources of law and The operation of the legal system.
SCAN (Curriculum K-12 Directorate), February 2004
