nuisance

Question 1

what is private nuisance

Answer 1

unlawful, indirect interference with a person’s use and enjoyment of land (or rights over land )

Question 2

who can sue in private nuisance

Answer 2

a claimant need proprietary interest in the land in order to sue; the owner or the tenant, it cannot be other members of the family e.g. a child

Question 3

who can be sued?

Answer 3

it doesn’t need to be someone who has an interest in land and can be a person causing or allowing the nuisance.

Question 4

what was held in tetley v chitty

Answer 4

local authority who has allowed go-karting on the land was held liable

Question 5

what was said in sedleigh denfield v o’callaghan about who can be sued

Answer 5

even if the occupier is not responsible for the nuisance they may have ‘adopted’ the nuisance for failing to deal with the problem

Question 6

what was said in anthony v coal authority about who can be sued

Answer 6

D can also be liable where the nuisance resulted from natural cause of which he/she is aware but fails to deal with

Question 7

explain the case of anthony v coal authority

Answer 7

F: D took over a former colliery and sold it as common land. A first started causing smoke and fumes which interfered with people in the area
H: D was liable because it was aware of the problem while they were in control and failed to deal with the problem

Question 8

give some examples of common nuisance

Answer 8

noise, dust, vibrations, fire and smells

Question 9

explain the case of hunter v canary wharf

Answer 9

F: C’s were living in the area near the canary wharf building and had lost their TV reception as a result of the building being built
H: HL ‘a thing of delight’ it not actionable in nuisance

Question 10

explain the case of thompson-schwab v costaki

Answer 10

F: D’s were running a brothel in a residential area of London
H: the sight of prostitutes and their clients entering and leaving neighbouring premises were held to amount to an actionable nuisance as the activity was considered offensive in itself. there was no need to demonstrate that the activities were noisy.

Question 11

what does unlawful mean in nuisance

Answer 11

the court accepts that D’s use of the land is unreasonable in the way it affects the claimant. D doesn’t have to be at fault in anyway. actual physical damage is prima facie actionable.

Question 12

what are the 5 issues looked at by court when deciding if something is reasonable

Answer 12

sensitivity, locality, duration, malice and social benefit

Question 13

what is the sensitivity rule

Answer 13

D isn’t responsible for damage which occurs solely because C or C’s situation is abnormally sensitive.

Question 14

explain the case of Robinson v kilvert

Answer 14

F: C occupied the ground floor of D’s premises to store brown paper. D stored boxes in the basement that required a hot, dry atmosphere. Dried C’s paper above out
H: court found paper was exceptionally delicate and hot air would not usually cause damage to paper.

Question 15

explain the case of network rail v morris

Answer 15

F: a railway network had installed a new signalling systems and the owner of a nearby recording studio complained of electro-magnetic interference which caused his to lose business
H: CA accepted that rail track signalling system did affect the music of C’s guitars despite them being ‘abnormally sensitive’ but dismissed the appeal due ti the interference being unforeseeable

Question 16

explain the case of McKinnon industries v Walker

Answer 16

F:C’s orchid were damaged and enjoyment of land affected by fumes and sulphur dioxide from D’s factory
H: privy council stated that as the right to the ordinary enjoyment has been infringed the C could also claim protection for his more unusual activity.

Question 17

explain the locality rule

Answer 17

where the interference takes place will have an important bearing whether it is reasonable or not

Question 18

explain the case of st helens smelting co v tipping

Answer 18

F: c’s estate was situated in an industrial area with fumes from a copper works damaging his tress and crops
H: HoL distinguished nuisances damage to property- shouldn’t be expected to put up with this. personal discomfort- put up with levels common to the area.

Question 19

explain the case of sturges v bridgeman

Answer 19

F: C was a doctor who sued a confectioner for the noise from his industrial equipment
H: took into account that local area was mostly doctor’s consulting rooms and explained that what would be a nuisance in a quiet residential area would not necessarily be so in a busy industrial one

Question 20

explain the duration rule

Answer 20

length and time of day. the longer the inconvenience goes on, the more likely it is to be actionable similarly, when the inconvenience is actually occuring will be important. noise at night is more unreasonable than noise during the day for instance.

Question 21

explain the case of Crown river cruises v kimbolton fireworks

Answer 21

F: a 20 minute firework display could only amount to a nuisance if physical damage is caused
H: one-offs only liable if there is damage

Question 22

explain the malice rule

Answer 22

motive is usually irrelevant in tort as something which is lawful cannot be made unlawful simply because of the motive of the one who is causing the damge

Question 23

explain the case of christie v davey

Answer 23

F: C was a music teacher who held musical parties at his house. D his next door neighbour deliberatley tried to disturb lessons and parties with banging on the wall and blowing whistles
H: malicious motive made D’s conduct unreasonable

Question 24

explain the case of hollywood silver fox farm v emmett

Answer 24

F: C bred foxes on his land. D was a neighbour who after a disagreement with C told his son to shoot his gun in the air while standing close to C’s land in order to frighten their vixens so they would not breed
H: D entitled to shoot but had a malicious motive

Question 25

explain the case of miller v jackson

Answer 25

F: cricket club had a high number of balls being hit onto other peoples property and causing damage
H: it is considered that D is providing a benefit to the community the court may consider actions reasonable

Question 26

what was held about causation in the case of cambridge water co ltd v eastern counties leather

Answer 26

HL held that the loss suffered must be of a type that was reasonably foreseeable

Question 27

what did lord goof say after the cambridge water co ltd v eastern countries leather

Answer 27

fault on behalf of D is irrelevant it doesnt matter how careful D was not to be a nuisance if the damage is forseeable then it can still be a nuisance. c’s cannot claim for a personal injury.

Question 28

explain the defence of prescription

Answer 28

if the nusiance has been actionable for at least 20 years and the c is aware of this the claim will fail

Question 29

explain the defence of statutory authority

Answer 29

if a statute orders something to be done which then creates a nuisance there will be no liability as the statute will have been held to authorise as long as the nuisance was an inevitable result of the authorised activity.

Question 30

explain the case of Allen v gulf oil refining

Answer 30

F: residents in the area whwre D’s were operating a refinery brought an action claiming that the refinery was causing a nuisance. statute gave permission to construct a refinery and nuisance was argued to be inevitable
H: Lord Diplock said parliament’s intention was refinery to operate or no point in allowing it to be built and nuisance was inevitable.

Question 31

true or false coming to the nuisance is a defence

Answer 31

false- it will be no defence to claim that the nuisance was already in place when the C arrived and so the C was in effect consenting to it

Question 32

explain the case of coventry v lawrence 2014 supreme court

Answer 32

F: the claimants were aware of the noise and nuisance when they bought a house near a motor racing track run by the defendants
H: A planning authority by the grant of planning permission cannot authorise the commission of a nuisance. nevertheless the grant of planning permission followed by the implementation of such permission may change the character of a locality.

Question 33

true or false public utility/ benefit is a defence

Answer 33

false it will not be a defence to claim that the nuisance is acceptable because the activity is in the public benefit however it can be taken into account in the unreasonableness test and when the court considers a remedy

Question 34

what is an injunction

Answer 34

a court order telling the D to stop committing the nuisance they can be permanent or temporary, total or partial.

Question 35

explain the case of kennaway v thompson

Answer 35

F: C owned land next to a lake windermere where a motorboat club had been organising races for years. c built on her land and in the meantime the club had grown and held more meetings
H: entitled to a limited injunction restraining the club from carrying on those activities which caused nuisance

Question 36

what are damages

Answer 36

damages can be awarded for any actual damage to the C’s property and/or for interference with use or enjoyment of the property e.g. loss of sleep. remember that foreseeability now applies to this so damages will not be awarded for harm which wasn’t foreseeable.

Question 37

explain the case of Dennis v MOD

Answer 37

F: C brought an action because fighter jets were flying low over their property. the fact that the activity was a benefit to the public wasnt a defence
H: MOD defended their actions on the basis that training is for the benefit of the public and the country- this isnt a defence but court awarded substantial compensation without limiting flying

Question 38

what is abatement

Answer 38

a self help remedy to stop the nuisance

Question 39

what is public nuisance

Answer 39

not related to ownership of land and need not involve interference with property or enjoyment of property. however it must affect a significant number of people

Question 40

what was held in PYA quarries

Answer 40

H: mostly used for road obstructions but could also be: a picket line/noise and traffic at badly organised festivals

Question 41

explain “A class”

Answer 41

it often involves interference or blocking of a road but can also involve things like smells and noise for instance from a badly organised public event such as a festival.

Question 42

explain tort: special damage to c

Answer 42

every public nuisance is a crime. some public nuisances will also be actionable in tort but only where there is ‘special damage’ over and above that suffered by the rest of the ‘class’

Question 43

explain the case of benjamin v storr

Answer 43

F: C kept a coffee house in covent gardn and D regularly left his horse and cart outside obstructing the highway and blocking light from all the shops in the row.
H: the nuisance had effected all shopkeepers but as a result of the nature of his business he was able to prove he suffered special damage because the smell of the horses was putting his customers off

Question 44

explain the case of castle v st augustine links

Answer 44

F: gold club had a tee sited next to a road and sometimes cars were hit by golf balls. c lost an eye when a ball broke his windscreen
H: the class of people affected were car drivers who drive along the road C suffered

Question 45

explain the case of Corby group litigation v corby borough council

Answer 45

F:local authority intended to redevelop a former steel works the soil was shown to be toxic. as a result local children were born with deformed
H:CA decided that a public insurance isn’t confined to loss of enjoyment in land. it is an unlawful act or omission which endangers the life, safety, health, property or comfort of the public.

Question 46

what case uses statutory authority defence in public nuisance

Answer 46

allen v gulf oil refining ltd - a claim in respect of the noise, smell and vibrations made by the refiner was unsuccessful as it was an inevitable consequence.

Question 47

what case uses injunction/damages as a defence in public nuisance

Answer 47

castle v st Augustine’s links- CA confirmed damages for personal injury can be claimed in public nuisance