Case 2 Customer Liability

A port authority member of the Club leased part of its land to a terminal operator. One of the conditions of the lease was an obligation on the authority to keep the berth area clean and free from debris. The terminal regularly shipped helicopters to overseas destinations: they were usually flown to the terminal and landed there to be prepared for transport. On each occasion the terminal operator would advise the port authority advance. On one occasion, although advance warning was received, the member's maintenance department failed to check the area: when the helicopter landed, the down-draught threw up rock salt and other debris, left from an earlier snowstorm. The helicopter itself was damaged (although fortunately it did not crash), while the windshields and bodywork of several hundred cars in a nearby storage area were also seriously affected by the flying debris.