A car driven by Ryan Inglis collided with a tram owned and operated by Metrolink Victoria Pty Ltd (Franchisee) causing damage to the tram and obstructing roadways. Inglis conceded that his negligence caused the accident and agreed to pay the cost of the tram repairs.
As a further consequence of the collision, several tram services operated by the Franchisee were significantly delayed.
The franchise agreement governing the relationship between the Franchisee and the Director of Public Transport (Franchisor) included an incentive scheme under which the Franchisee must follow a master timetable and is penalised for any major disruptions and delays. Pursuant to this incentive scheme, the Franchisee was liable to pay an operational performance penalty of A$7,000.77 (Penalty) to the Franchisor for the delayed tram services following the collision with Inglis.The Franchisee commenced proceedings to recover the Penalty from Inglis.
To successfully claim the Penalty from Inglis, the Franchisee needed to show that the loss was a reasonably foreseeable consequence of the collision. Continue reading this post.