nuisance

Question 1

what is a private nuisance

Answer 1

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

Question 2

who can sue in private nuisance

Answer 2

C needs proprietary interest in the land in order to sue; the owner or tenant it cannot be other members of the family

Question 3

in what case was the proprietary interest challenged

Answer 3

McKenna v British Aluminium 30 claimants including children were able to claim under act 8 of the European convention on human rights

Question 4

who can be sued

Answer 4

doesnt need to have an interest in land and can be a person causing or allowing the nuisance

Question 5

what was held in tetley v chitty

Answer 5

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

Question 6

what was held in sedleigh denfield v o callaghan

Answer 6

even if the occupier isn’t responsible for the nuisance they may have ‘adopted’ the nuisance for failing to deal with the problem D can also be liable where the nuisance resulted from natural causes 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. at 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

what is direct interference

Answer 8

direct interference is usually be trespass rather than nuisance

Question 9

what are examples of common nuisance

Answer 9

noise, dust, vibrations, fire and smells

Question 10

explain the case of hunter v canary wharf

Answer 10

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 builty
H: HL- ‘a thing of delight’ is not actionable in nuisance/

Question 11

explain the case of Thompson-Schwab v Costaki

Answer 11

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 tat the activities were noisy

Question 12

what does unlawful mean in nuisance

Answer 12

it doesn’t mean illegal but the court accepts that D’s use of the land is unreasonable in the way it affects the claimant. D does not have to be at fault in anyway. actual physical damage is prima facie actionable (Halsey v esso)

Question 13

what is the sensitivity rule

Answer 13

D is not responsbile 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. this dried C’s papers above out
H: court found paper was exceptionally delicate and hot air wouldn’t usually cause damage to paper

Question 15

explain the case of Network rail v morris 2004

Answer 15

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

Question 16

explain the case of McKinnon Industries v Walker

Answer 16

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

Question 17

what is the locality rule

Answer 17

where the interference takes place will have an important bearing on 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 copper works damaging his tress and crops
H: HoL distinguished nuisances: damage to property= should not 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 wouldn’t necessarily be so in a busy industrial area

Question 20

what did Thesiger LJ say about nuisance

Answer 20

“what may be a nuisance in belgrave square may not be so in Bermondsey”

Question 21

what is considered when looking at the duration of a nuisance

Answer 21

length and the time of day

Question 22

what is the duration rule

Answer 22

the longer the inconvenience goes on the more likely it is to be actionable similarly when the inconvenience is actually occurring will be important noise at night is more unreasonable than noise during the day

Question 23

what was held in case of Crown river cruises v Kimbolton fireworks

Answer 23

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

Question 24

what is the malice rule

Answer 24

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

Question 25

explain the case of christie v davey

Answer 25

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

Question 26

explain the case of hollywood silver fox farm v emmett

Answer 26

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 wouldn’t breed.
H: D entitled to shoot but had a malicious motive

Question 27

what was held in miller and jackson

Answer 27

H: it is considered that D is providing a benefit to the community the court may consider actions reasonable

Question 28

what was held in the cambridge water co letd v eastern counties leather

Answer 28

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

Question 29

what is the defence of prescription and what case did this fail on

Answer 29

if the nuisance has been actionable for at least 20 years and the C was aware of this the claim will fail.
Sturges v bridgeman as noise was only nuisance when he had built and started using new consulting rooms

Question 30

what is the defence of statutory authority

Answer 30

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 the nuisance as long as the nuisance was an inevitable result of the activity

Question 31

explain the case of allen v gulf oil 1981

Answer 31

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

Question 32

explain the case of coventry v lawrence (fen tigers) 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 locality

Question 33

explain what an injunction is

Answer 33

an injunction is a court order telling a D to stop committing the nuisance it can be permanent or temporary, total or partial

Question 34

explain kennaway v thompson

Answer 34

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 35

explain the remedy of damages

Answer 35

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

Question 36

explain the case of dennis v mod

Answer 36

F: C’s bought an action because fighter jets were flying low over their property the fact that the activity was a benefit to the public was not 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 the flying

Question 37

what is the remedy of abatement

Answer 37

a self help remedy to stop the nuisance e.g. if tree branches belonging to a neighbour are overhanging your land you are lawfully entitled to cut those particular branches

Question 38

what is a public nuisance

Answer 38

this isnt 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 (“a class”)

Question 39

what was held in PYA quarries about “A class “

Answer 39

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

Question 40

explain tjhe case of benajmin v storr

Answer 40

F: C kept a coffee house in covent garden 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 shop keepers but as a result of the nature of his business he was able to prove he had suffered special damage because the smell of the horses was putting his customers off

Question 41

explain the case of castle v augustine links

Answer 41

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

Question 42

explain the case of corby group litigation v corby borough council

Answer 42

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 limbs
H:CA decided that a public nuisance isnt confined to a loss of enjoyment in land it is an unlawful act or omission which endangers the life, safety, helath, property, or comfort of the public