AAP General News (Australia)
08-08-2000
SA: Appeal starts against dinosaur sized damages
ADELAIDE, Aug 8 AAP - Tyrannosaurus Rex was a breathing, growling gigantic model dinosaur
destined for movie stardom when it met its untimely end in a fire and won its creator
more than $30 million in damages.
The case surrounding the 30 metre long, 18 tonne model is now back in the South Australian
Supreme Court, as defendants in the original action appeal against the multi-million dollar
payout.
In November last year Justice Robin Millhouse, awarded a Tasmanian company $31.25 million
over the loss of T-Rex.
Reduced to just a metal frame, the model was described by Justice Millhouse as a pathetic
sight. He said the fire denied the dinosaur the chance to appear at fairs and shows and
the opportunity to become a major film star.
The blaze which destroyed T-Rex was sparked by cutting equipment used to dismantle
a protective enclosure around the dinosaur which had featured as a major attraction at
the Royal Adelaide Show in 1985.
The enclosure was being dismantled because it had been bought by Barry O'Loughlin,
who was a joint defendant with David Parker, Terry Edwards and Jonathon Foote, who were
employed to pull it down, and the Royal Agricultural and Horticultural Society (RAHS),
the show organisers.
T-Rex was the work of Launceston man Allan Limb and took four years to construct.
Justice Millhouse said it was a marvellous contraption run by hydraulics and computers
and had the potential to become a major film star, perhaps earning Mr Limb more than $100
million from films, merchandising, fair circuits and other appearances.
He awarded Mr Limb's company, Glenmont Investments Ltd, $20 million for loss of future
earnings, $3.25 million for the cost or rebuilding the dinosaur and $8 million in interest.
But in the Supreme Court today lawyers for the RAHS said they would challenge both
the size of the damages and the ruling against the organisation in relation to its duty
of care.
They said the RAHS had no duty to either fight the fire or call the fire brigade.
Justice Millhouse had made findings which defied logic and defied the evidence, they said.
The hearing was continuing.
AAP tjd/cjh/bwl
KEYWORD: DINOSAUR (CARRIED EARLIER)
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