Occupier's Liability - Finished

Question 1

What is Occupier’s Liability

Answer 1

A field of tort that concerns the duty of care owed in a reasonable or unreasonable visit to a piece of land whether it is lawful or trespassed

Question 2

What are the 2 Acts that deal with Occupiers Liability

Answer 2

Occupiers Liability Act 1984
Occupiers Liability Act 1957

Question 3

What is the use of the Occupier’s Liability Act 1957

Answer 3

A
Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957 deals with lawful visitors
Allows compensation for personal injuries and also damage to propert

Question 4

What is the main remedy that is seeked by defendants in Occupiers Liability

Answer 4

Compensation (financial benefits)

Question 5

Define Occupier

Answer 5

No statutory definition for Occupier
Usually a person that owns a property, land etc.

Question 6

Define Lawful Visitor

Answer 6

A visitor to a property with permission
Usually contractual permission or statutory rights of entry (police etc.)

Question 7

What duty does an Occupier (owner) have to a lawful visitor

Answer 7

Occupier has a responsibility to make sure that the visitor is safe at a reasonable level when under their supervision/liability

Question 8

Exception to Liability of Occupier

Answer 8

No liability if the danger is obvious and the trespsser is an adult

Question 9

To what extent must an occupier ensure their visitors are safe
- Laverton v Takeaway

Answer 9

Occupier must ensure the visitors are safe to a certain extent
- Laverton visited a takeaway shop on a wet busy day
- Floor was mopped but Laverton still slipped and broke ankle
- Takeaway did their best to limit damage so are not liable

Question 10

What was the main concept of the Laverton v Takeaway case

Answer 10

The premises do not have to be completely safe – The occupiers just have to take reasonable care

Question 11

What is the difference between the 2 legislations concerning OL

Answer 11

Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957 deals with lawful visitors
Occupiers’ Liability Act 1984 deals with trespassers

Question 12

Wheat v Lacon
- Explain summary of the Case

Answer 12

Employee of a brewer in a public house was staying over as a paying guest
- Stayed in the private area which wasn’t safe (suffered injuries after falling through hole)
- The staircase was unlit; it was not dangerous to those using it whilst taking the appropriate care, so weren’t guilty

Question 13

Define Invitee

Answer 13

A person who comes onto another’s property, premises or business establishment upon invitation

Question 14

Give an example of an expressed and implied invite, in terms of OL

Answer 14

Expressed - A verbal or written request by the property owner of occupant for another to come to the property for the purpose of providing a service to the owner or occupant (cleaner)

Implied - A corner shop being open to public is implying that anyone of public can access it

Question 15

Why is there a significance when referring to care towards children

Answer 15

Children have much more limited minds in comparisons to adults
They may not have the development of making right and wrong decisions
Easily succeptible to Allurment

Question 16

What does the OL Act 1954 say about children

Answer 16

Occupiers should be prepared for children to be less careful than adults and the premises must be reasonably safe for a child that age

Question 17

If there is an allurement, can the Occupier be liable

Answer 17

No, if the damage is not foreseeable the occupier cannot be liable

Question 18

What 2 exceptions allow the occupier to become not liable with a case with the involvement of a child

Answer 18

If the damage was not foreseeable
If a parent was meant to be suprevising the child (Phipps v Rochester)

Question 19

What is the liability occurance when a trade is taking place

Answer 19

If a tradesman is injured while under terms of trade, the occupier is liable as they owe them a duty of care if they are on the occupier’s land/premises
However the injury must be related to the source of trade

Question 20

Can a tradesman working on a traintrack sue an occupier for being hit by a random car that appears on the track

Answer 20

No, the occupier must be able to protect the tradesman from an incident occuring to a certain extent, but not if it was unforeseeable.

Question 21

What is the occupier’s role in staff’s faults in concerns to damages

Answer 21

Occupier must insure staff hired are trained accordingly with experience, insured and know what they are doing.

Question 22

What happens if the incident that occurs is not in the hands of the occupier

Answer 22

If the injury is not related to the premises, the occupier can be liable

Question 23

What are the 3 requirements of s2 of the OL Act 1954

Contractor

Answer 23

The occupier must’ve not been able to do the work themselves, as to why they hired someone else
Contractor hired must be suitable for the job role; references and insurance must be checked
Occupier must check the work has been done properly

Question 24

Haseldine v Daw

Lift - Contractor

Answer 24

Cliamant was killed when lift plunged fastly down
- Occupier couldn’t do work themselves so hired someone else
- Not liable

Question 25

Define Defence

Answer 25

A reason, that most commonly a defendant will use, which exempts them from being liable of an offence

Question 26

What is contributory Negligence
- How can it be used as a defence

Answer 26

Damages may be reduced under the Law Reform (Contributory Negligence) Act 1945 where the visitor fails to take reasonable care for their own safety
- If a person isn’t able to act in a safe manner themselves, the occupier cannot be held liable

Question 27

Warning Notices - s 2(4) Act 1957

Answer 27

It shows that a warning sign is insufficient when showing signs of danger
However if the danger is obvious, no addition sigsn are necessary

Question 28

Can a warning notice be used as a full defence or partial

Answer 28

Full Defence

Question 29

Rae v Marrs

Ditch - Inspector

Answer 29

Surveryer was conduction inspection on a premises
- Went into a dark room and fell into a 3 feet deep hole
- Should’ve used his torch so was contributorily negligent in not using his torch
- Partially reduced the claim of damages

Question 30

What is the use of the Occupier’s Liability Act 1984

Answer 30

Occupiers’ Liability Act 1984 deals with trespassers
Only refers to personal injuries, not damage to property

Question 31

Define Trespasser

Answer 31

Someone that enters a prohibited area under no contractual visit, or legal acceptance to be there

Question 32

When does an occupier owe a duty of care to a trespasser according to s1(3) of the OL 1984 Act

Answer 32

a) He is aware of the danger
b) Knows that a trespasser is in the area
c) Knows that there is a risk against which he should provide protection

Question 33

Tomplinson v Congleton

Lake

Answer 33

Trespasser
Man dived in a lake which had warning signs
Held occupier not liable

Question 34

Is there any difference in defences used for trespassers and lawful visitors

Answer 34

No - Majority of defences areused are the same

Question 35

What is the difference between occupiers liability and general negligence

Answer 35

Occupiers liability deals with people in reasonable or unreasonable grounds of permission to be on a land, whereas general negligence refers to a general duty of care

Question 36

What type of approach is the OL Act 1957 and the OL Act 1984

Answer 36

OL 1957 - Objective
OL Act 1984 - Subjective

Question 37

What is a similarity between both Acts

Answer 37

The particular damage needs to be identified before the occupier’s duty of care can be established

Question 38

If the occupier of a premises had absolutely no knowledge of a fault/risk, which legislation would be used in court

Answer 38

OL Act 1954

Question 39

Dylan and Jamie’s house is right next to the Co-op. They are playing football in their garden. Dylan kicks the ball over the fence, where it lands in the yard at the back of the shop. There is a ‘No trespassing- employee access only’ sign on the side of the shop. Dylan jumps over the fence and makes his way across the yard to fetch the ball. On his way, he slips on an oil patch left by a delivery truck and breaks his leg

Will Dylan be successful in a claim again Co-Op using Occupier’s Liability

Answer 39

AO1
Which Act is going to be used - OL Act 1984
Definitions of premises, unlawful visitors and occupiers
Are they children - Yes, so must be taken into account
When does an occupier owe a duty of care to a trespasser
Trespassers must be kept reasonably safe to an extent

AO3
Just merge all of AO1 into Extract

Come to a conclusion