Catchwords:

TORTS — negligence — duty of care — duty of care owed by operator of waste disposal tip — escape of fire – whether class to whom duty owed indeterminate

TORTS — negligence — standard of care — whether Council exercising special statutory power under Civil Liability Act 2002 (NSW), s 43A

TORTS — negligence — breach of duty — whether adequate precautions taken to prevent escape of fire – allocation of resources by local council — application of Civil Liability Act, s 42 — whether inaction of local council unreasonable — whether financial resources available to take precautions

TORTS — negligence — causation — where multiple possible causes of fire — whether probable causes arising from breaches of duty were sufficient to establish causation — whether precautions would have prevented damage to the plaintiff