UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES TORTS 2013 LAWS 1061 JURD 7161 ASSIGNMENT INSTRUCTIONS This assignment is worth

40% of your marks for the session for this subject. It is in two parts. Part One is worth 65% and Part Two is worth 35% of the marks for this assignment. Answer both Parts of the assignment. You should divide your time and the length of your answers for Part One and Two keeping in mind the proportion of marks awarded for each part. You are reminded that conciseness is a lawyerly skill. There is a word limit of 2500 words (not including citations) for the whole assignment. Words more than 10% over 2,500 will attract a penalty of 5 marks. The assignment should be handed in by 4pm on 18th September to the Level 2 Enquiry Counter. Please attach an assignment cover sheet (available from Level 2) to your assignment. You must also submit your assignment electronically through Moodle before 4 pm on 18 th September. You have three weeks for the assignment, which will give you time to organise your other assessments. Pressure of other work is not a valid reason for an extension of time. No extensions will be granted without a request in writing accompanied by relevant documentation. Late assignments will be penalised 5 marks per day. You are reminded of the Law School rules relating to plagiarism. See the booklet Information for Students which is available from Level 2. All facts and events take place in New South Wales. PART I. (This part is worth 65% of the marks for this assignment). Consider the following facts and answer the questions below: Jonas runs a very successful business in audio visual equipment hire but in 2010 was diagnosed by his psychiatrist as a pathological gambler. Between June 2007 and August 2010, he lost over $1.479 billion playing blackjack and poker at the WinsumLoozmor Casino Pty Ltd (WinsumLoozmor) in Sydney. In 2011 in response to the diagnosis and the devastating impact of the gambling losses on his business Jonas imposed on himself a 5 year self exclusion ban at WinsumLoozmor Casino, a program offered by all casinos under which patrons can ask to be blacklisted for at least 12 months and directed to a counseling service. In 2013 he contacted the WinsumLoozmor Casino. The Casino management was delighted to hear from him although they knew his long history as a

problem gambler and that he was under a self-exclusion ban. They informed him that the blackjack and poker odds of winning were much, much higher than in previous years, they promised him an in-house rebate of 20% on all losses, free drinks and meals for him and up to 5 guests and provided him with an on-call helicopter to transport him from his Mosman home helipad to the Casino. The luxury helicopter, a Sikorsky Executive S92VVIP, is owned and operated by the Casino and despite its hefty price tag the Casino attributes a significant proportion of their soaring profits to its purchase in 2009. In May 2013 the Casino arranges for a helicopter to fly Jonas to the Casino where he loses over $3 million playing blackjack and poker. WinsumLoozmor refunds him 20% of his losses as a credit for further gambling which he subsequently loses. Experts afterwards calculated that the odds of winning at poker had not increased in the Casino as stated by the management. Jonas later claims that he placed significant reliance on the Casinos statement and believed that the greater odds combined with an online tutorial on counting cards that he had recently completed would enable him to recover his past losses and finance his failing business. Jonas is very upset by his losses and at 2am he departs the Casino in the Sikorsky helicopter. Seconds after it takes off and at a height of 30 metres the rotor blade snaps. As the broken section falls away, it causes such a massive vibration that the gearbox and the rotor head are torn away from the helicopter's fuselage. The helicopter falls rapidly to the ground and Jonas suffers serious injuries. At the helicopters last safety inspection, the inspecting engineer had noted that there was metal fatigue in a rotor blade, possibly the result of a lightning strike three years ago and recommended replacement. The WinsumLoozmor management was very unhappy at the prospect of the helicopter being out of service for 3 days and decided to defer the recommended repairs. The crash of the helicopter is captured on CCTV which is subsequently released to the television media which repeatedly broadcasts the footage of the helicopter spinning to the ground and the removal of Jonas from the wreck of the helicopter on a stretcher by medics. The broadcasts also relay the story of the Jonas losses at the Casino as a lead story The Loser and the Sikorsky: Sydney businessman injured in helicopter crash after losing millions at the Casino. Jonas ex-wife Abeerah sees the live footage of the crash on television and collapses in shock and later suffers an anxiety disorder. Her psychiatrist says she is not sure if it was the shock of Jonas injuries or the shock of the million dollar losses that caused her anxiety disorder as she is still engaged in an acrimonious divorce settlement with Jonas. Jonas new girlfriend, Bau Yu, is horrified by the news of the accident and rushes to the hospital arriving just as Jonas is carried, bleeding profusely, into the emergency room on a stretcher. For two weeks she is not sure if Jonas will live or die. She later develops prosopagnosia (also known as face blindness) which is a rare psychiatric disorder (which some medical practitioners do not accept as a genuine disorder) that makes it difficult or even impossible for people to recognise faces. She cannot recognise the faces of Jonas or her family members and sometimes does not even recognise her own face when looking in the mirror. Her psychologist says it was caused by the shock of seeing Jonas in such a terrible state and not knowing whether he would live or die. Lucia, a patron of the Casino, was smoking on the roof of the Casino at the time of Jonass departure and witnessed the crash of the helicopter first-hand. She develops post traumatic stress syndrome as a result of what she saw. Lucia was in a

small plane crash as a child in the Amazon and was lucky to survive. She has had an intense fear of flying ever since. Jonas recovers from his physical injuries but develops depression and a deep sense of guilt. His psychologist states that the depression is largely because of the failure of his business which is unable to withstand the gambling losses and that his guilt relates to his return to the Casino. Jonas is forced to make his long time executive assistant Shannon redundant due to the failure of the business. In relation to the above facts answer the following question. 1. Does WinsumLoozmor Casino Pty Ltd owe a duty of care to: (a) Jonas? (b) Abeerah? (c) Bau Yu? (d) Lucia? (e) Shannon? In each case consider the common law and the CLA, as applicable. Consider whether Part 3 of the CLA precludes recovery for any of the plaintiffs. PART 2. (This part is worth 35% of the marks for this assignment) The duty of care outlines the scope of the tort of negligence; it is not a fair limitation on responsibility for accidents Discuss this statement in relation to the fact scenario in Part One and at least one of the theoretical readings you have considered in this course