Nudrill Pty Ltd v La Rosa [3] [2011]
 

 

The Nudrill Pty Ltd v La Rosa case illustrates that business owners need to be careful when preparing quotes. They need to ensure that their terms and conditions are incorporated onto the back of their quotes, or somehow annexed to their quotes; and that it is clearly stated which organisation is quoting to do the works. If this is not done then the business owner is personally exposed to liability.
 
Incorrect contracting documents can expose business owners to personal liability. Business owners should ensure that their terms and conditions limit their liability and are incorporated correctly into their contract documents, in order to take full advantage of any limitations of liability in their terms and conditions.
 
In this recent District Court case, it was found that where general contract terms and conditions were not incorporated correctly into a quote before services were provided, the terms did not form part of the contract, and the supplier was personally liable for damages.
 
In Nudrill Pty Ltd v La Rosa, Giuseppe La Rosa transported a drill rig to Kalgoorlie for Nudrill Pty Ltd  and when rounding a corner in Kalgoorlie, tipped the drill rig off his trailer. The accident caused approximately $200,000 damage to the drill rig.
 
Prior to transporting the drill rig Mr La Rosa gave Nudrill Pty Ltd a verbal quote which was followed by a  written quote. There were no terms and conditions attached to the written quote.
 
At the time of receiving the quote and contracting, Nudrill Pty Ltd assumed they were contracting directly with Mr La Rosa as a sole proprietor and not with Mr La Rosa’s private company Rojo (WA) Pty Ltd. Mr La Rosa claimed that Rojo (WA) Pty Ltd was the contractor. On evidence, none of the directors of Nudrill Pty Ltd or their staff had heard of a company called Rojo (WA) Pty Ltd.
 
The court found that Mr La Rosa had not incorporated the terms and conditions of his services into his quote documents because they were attached to invoice documents received by clients after contract completion. The court therefore found that the terms and conditions were not incorporated into Mr La Rosa’s haulage contracts and he could not rely on his limitation of liability clauses.
 
Furthermore, the court found against Mr La Rosa personally and not Rojo (WA) Pty Ltd. This was because, on the facts, Mr LaRosa was the contractor and not Rojo (WA) Pty Ltd and so he was therefore personally liable for the payment of $197,000 in damages to Nudrill Pty Ltd.

The frustrating aspect for Mr La Rosa in this case was that he had all the components required to reduce his liability but they weren’t used correctly and so they were of no use and provided no protection.
 
Lawfield Legal Practice can assist you with your quote and contract preparation and help you with your contracting process so that you limit your liability to damages claims. Furthermore, if you don’t have a set of terms and conditions for your contracting services, then we can draft terms and conditions or a suite of contracting documents that are tailored to suit your business. When doing this we can also make sure that you are taking advantage of the reduction of liability that you can obtain from your Pty Ltd company.