The Victorian Court of Appeal has handed down a very interesting judgment in Blake v J R Perry Nominees Pty Ltd [2012] VSCA 122 (14 June 2012) http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/vic/VSCA/2012/122.html on the question of vicarious liability. One truck driver kicked another in the back of the knee while they were both standing around waiting for a ship to arrive. The trial judge found that the employer was not vicariously liable, and this decision was upheld by the CA, although in a 2-1 ruling with an interesting dissent by Neave JA. There is helpful discussion of the policy and law, and a citation of Paula Giliker's article “Making the right connection: Vicarious liability and institutional responsibility”, (2009) 17 Torts Law Journal 35  at [79] by Harper JA in the majority. With such a strong dissent it will be interesting to see if the case is appealed further.

Regards

Neil Foster