I took my dinner jacket and my wife’s silk dress to the dry cleaners.
In the past I was giving a docket and as usual I placed it in my
wallet without reading it. When it came time to collect my clothing I
found out that one of the assistants recalled handing the dinner
jacket to another customer who had apparently lost his jacket and who
was able to identify the jacket when allowed to sort through the rack.
Also my wife’s silk dress was badly stained. The assistant was unable
to give me any explanation for the stain. I tried to demand
compensation but the assistant referred me to a clause on the docket,
which read 'We will not be liable for any loss of or damage to
clothing left for cleaning howsoever such loss or damage may be
caused'

The manager also pointed out the same words on a large sign on the
wall. The sign had obviously been there for some time. I protested
that I had never seen the sign or read the docket before.

I’m thinking of suing the dry cleaning company as both garment total
value exceeds $2000 (AUD).

I was wondering what legal issues relating to liability for loss of
and damage to clothing in these circumstances, stating fully the legal
principles involved.

Could you give me in your answer the strengths of my case as well as
the dry cleaners (defendant)

In addition to the answer could you please tell me if this contract is
governed by the Trade Practices Act 1974 (cth)  and State/Territory
Fair Trading Act equivalents in Australia?

If you haven't got an answer, why not try the following site
www.consumer.vic.gov.au/
they have a facility to let you email them a query and they'll get
back to you. I'm not sure which state of Australia you're in, but I
imagine this Vic govt site will be able to give you an idea of your
rights regardless of where you are. I've found them to be very
helpful. It took a day for them to respond to my email but in the
meantime I ended up phoning them and got straight through, so I ended
up with having my query answered twice because I was too embarassed to
tell them how impatient I was ; )