The Duty of Care in Negligence

James Plunkett is a barrister at the Victorian Bar in Melbourne. He has previously taught law at the University of Oxford and practised at the Bar of England and Wales.

1. Introduction
I. What is the Duty of Care?
II. Making Sense of the Duty of Care
III. The Aim of this Book
IV. The Structure of this Book
V. Scope and Terminology
2. The Historical Foundations of the Duty of Care
I. Introduction
II. The Beginnings of the Duty of Care
III. Towards a General Conception
IV. Conclusion
3. Methods for Determining the Existence of a Duty of Care
I. Introduction
II. The Aftermath of Donoghue v Stevenson
III. The Staggering March of Negligence
IV. The Rise and Fall of Anns v Merton
V. Caparo
VI. Canada and the ‘Two Stage’ Test
VII. Assumption of Responsibility and the ‘Extended’ Hedley Byrne Principle
VIII. Australia and the ‘Salient Features’ Test
IX. Pockets
X. Incrementalism
XI. Conclusion
4. Factual Duty
I. Introduction
II. The Dual Function of Duty
III. Factual Duty, Fault, and Remoteness
IV. Factual Duty and the Problem of the Unforeseeable Plaintiff
V. Why Factual Duty Entered the Duty Enquiry and Why it Remains
VI. Why Does it Matter?
VII. Conclusion
5. Notional Duty I: General Principles
I. Introduction
II. The ‘Categorical’ Nature of Notional Duty
III. Assumptions of Responsibility
IV. Putting it all Together: The Structure of the Notional Duty Enquiry
V. A Suggested Approach to Resolving Notional Duty Problems
VI. Conclusion
6. Notional Duty II: Theoretical Issues
I. Introduction
II. The Use of Policy Considerations
III. The Need for Notional Duty
IV. Conclusion
7. Comparing the Duty Methodologies of Australia, Canada and the UK
I. Introduction
II. The Study
III. The Competing Methodologies
IV. Conclusion
8. Conclusion
I. Introduction
II. Moving Forward
III. Conclusion