Private Nuisance & Rylands v Fletcher Flashcards
Private nuisance is defined as ‘an u_______ indirect i_________ with a person’s u__ or e________ of land coming from a neighbouring land’. (Winfield & Jalowicz)
Unlawful, interference, use, enjoyment
What are the 3 types of nuisance?
Loss of amenity
Material damage
Loss of value to land
What are the two parties to an action? And what qualifies each one?
Claimant - must have a proprietary interest in the land (Hunter v Canary Wharf)
Defendant - creates/authorises the nuisance (Tetley v Chitty)
What does ‘unlawful’ mean?
Unreasonable
What are the 3 main “unreasonableness factors”?
Locality, duration, degree of interference
What must be considered for locality in private nuisance?
The character of the neighbourhood eg. Residential, commercial, industrial
Where does the ruling ‘What would be a nuisance in Belgrave Square would not necessarily be so in Bermondsey’ come from?
Thesiger LJ in Sturges v Bridgman
What counted as a nuisance in Crown River Cruises v Kimbolton Firework Ltd.?
A single 20 minute firework display which set a river barge alight
What is more likely to make the duration of a nuisance unreasonable?
Continuous/for long periods of time, carried out at unreasonable hours of the day (early morning & evenings)
In which case was damage to the defendant’s special paper not awarded with an injunction and why?
Robinson v Kilvert - the court ruled that normal paper would not have dried out, so it was not awarded
What does the case Hollywood Silver Fox Farm v Emmett tell us about malice?
A deliberate harmful act will normally been seen as unreasonable nuisance
What happened in Christie v Davey?
D was annoyed at C, who held music lessons in their house. D responded by banging on the walls, shouting and blowing whistles. This was deemed deliberate and malicious
How might social utility affect a nuisance claim?
If the defendant is providing a benefit to the community, their actions may be seen as reasonable (Miller v Jackson). It may also affect the remedy
What was the nuisance in Laws v Florinplace Ltd.?
A sex shop was set up in a fairly residential location, and this was seen as unreasonable in terms of locality
What was not considered a loss of amenity in Hunter v Canary Wharf Ltd.?
Interference with television reception
Give two examples of loss of amenity
Fumes, smells from farms, loud noises
Give two examples of material damage
Oily smuts from chimneys, fire, cricket balls being hit into a garden
Which case can be used to illustrate loss of amenity and loss of value to land, and what are the facts of this case?
Dennis v MOD - claimed due to the noise from the neighbouring RAF base. They were awarded damages but not an injunction due to the social utility of the base.
Degree of interference: ‘Does the nuisance materially i________ with o_______ existance’? (W____ v Selfe)
Interfere, ordinary, (Walter v Selfe)
Where physical damage occurs, l_____ is i_________. (St Helens Smelting Co. v Tipping)
Locality, irrelevant
What is the defence of prescription in private nuisance?
Where an actionable nuisance has occurred for at least 20 years without complaint (Sturges v Bridgman)
What is NOT a defence in private nuisance?
Coming to the nuisance (Miller v Jackson)
In which case was a partial injunction given which limited the frequency of powerboat racing?
Kennaway v Thompson
How might planning permission affect an action in private nuisance?
Dependant on whether the permission has changed the character of the locality, so what was once unreasonable becomes acceptable in the new locality - depend on nature of permission and scale of operation
What is the first element needed to be proved in Rylands v Fletcher?
The bringing onto the land and accumulating
True or false: a person will be liable for things that naturally accumulate on their land
False: Ellison v MOD - rainwater which caused flooding on neighbouring land accumlated naturally, so there was no liability
What is the second element in Rylands v Fletcher?
Of a thing likely to cause mischief if it escapes
Which rule does the case of Musgrove v Pandelis illustrate?
It is not the escape that must be likely, but that mischief (damage) is likely if the thing does escape
Transco Plc v Stockport BC - the accumulated substance should be something that poses an ‘e_______ risk’ if it escapes.
Exceptional
In Rylands v Fletcher, the thing that escapes does not have to be d_________.
Dangerous
How is a ‘non-natural use of land’ defined in Rickards v Lothian?
‘Some special use bringing with it increased danger to others’.
What 3 things should be taken into account according to Mason v Levy Auto Parts regarding a non-natural use of land?
Quantity of material stored, manner in which it is stored, character of the neighbourhood
How is ‘non-natural’ defined in Transco?
‘Extraordinary and unusual’
What is the fourth requirement for Rylands v Fletcher?
The thing must actually escape
In which case did shells in a muntitions factory explode, and why was there no liability under Rylands v Fletcher?
Read v J. Lyons & Co Ltd. - there was no escape from their property, therefore no liability
Escape means: ‘from a place where D has o________ or control over the land to a place outside his o_______ or control’ (Viscount S____)
Occupation (x2), (Viscount Simon)
What happened in Hale v Jenning Brothers and which requirement of Rylands v Fletcher does this support?
A ‘chair-o-plane’ ride became detatched and injured another stallholder - the thing must actually escape (#4)
What is the fifth element needed for Rylands v Fletcher?
The thing must be a source of foreseeable damage if it does escape
Why were the defendants not liable in Cambridge Water Co. v Eastern Counties Leather Plc?
It was not reasonably foreseeable that the water supply would become contaminated
What can’t a claimant sue for in Rylands v Fletcher, and what must they have?
Personal injury, must have a proprietary interest in the land
What is the defence of act of a stranger and what case supports this?
Where a stranger over whom D has no control has caused the thing to escape, there may be no liability. Perry v Kendricks Transport Ltd - a stranger removed a petrol cap and threw a match into the tank, which ignited fumes
Act of God - where there are e______ weather conditions that ‘no h____ f________ can provide against’
Extreme, human foresight
In which case did freak thunderstorms causing artificial lakes to flood and destroy the bridges on C’s land amount to an Act of God and therefore dissolve liability?
Nichols v Marsland
What case can be used to support the defence of planning permission?
Gillingham BC v Medway - where a residential area was changed into a commercial port
