Federation, Fare Dodging and False Imprisonment - Mr Robertson's Evening Out

Abstract

The decision of the 'Privy Council in the case of Robinson v The Balmain New Ferry Company Ltd' remains a part of many tort courses, and tort textbooks, in common law countries. I am as guilty of this as the many others to whom I refer. Yet the reason for including it tends to be to dismiss it as an aberration to a general rule, a case that is non-representative rather than paradigmatic. Whilst for doctrinal explanatory purposes this is a perfectly satisfactory way of dealing with the case, it is an interesting question to consider why the case did not set any kind of general principle – why the dog did not bark rather than why it did.