KANGAROO COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Malfoy v Hogwarts

[2003] KCA 085

WINDBAG CJ: The plaintiff, Mr DracoMalfoy, is a student at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (“Hogwarts”). Mr Malfoy sustained an injury as a result of the tortious actions of a poltergeist on the school premises and now brings an action in negligence against Hogwarts. It is not in dispute that Hogwarts had a duty to take reasonable steps to ensure the safety of Mr Malfoy while the latter was entrusted to the care of Hogwarts. Mr Malfoy claims that Hogwarts breached this duty by failing to remove the poltergeist from the premises. Alternatively, it is argued that the poltergeist was, in effect, an employee of Hogwarts and that Hogwarts was therefore vicariously liable for the tortious actions of its employee.

It is unnecessary for me to consider the second ground because I have come to the conclusion that the first ground has been made out. Hogwarts has conceded that it was aware of the existence of the poltergeist on its premises. It was also aware that the poltergeist frequently acted in an abusive and intimidating manner towards Hogwarts students. Nothing, however, was done to prevent this from occurring, nor were any steps taken to remove the poltergeist. This is a clear case of an educational institution breaching its duty to provide students with a safe learning environment. The breach is aggravated by the fact that the Hogwarts Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, appears to have treated the situation as some kind of joke and seems to have viewed the poltergeist with benign amusement. This was completely unacceptable behaviour from a school official charged with the responsibility for ensuring the welfare of young children.

I am fortified in my conclusion by my knowledge that Mr Dumbledore has recently been convicted of multiple breaches of the Occupational Health and Safety Act in relation to his continuing failure to provide a safe workplace for his teaching staff through his persistent inability or unwillingness to address the issue of poltergeists, ghosts and other supernatural phenomena on the school premises. Community expectations as to the standard of diligence to which officials engaged in the education profession should adhere have risen markedly in recent years and it is clear that Mr Dumbledore and his administration have fallen well below the mark in the present case. Accordingly, judgment should be entered for Mr Malfoy.

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