Public Nuisance Flashcards
Why is public nuisance of less relevance in the modern world?
As many areas of public nuisance such as pollution, noise and public health measures are regulated by statute and statutory regulations.
Result being that public nuisance tort is a residual method of dealing with certain interferences that cannot be dealt with by other means or where an individual wishes to claim common law damages
What is a public nuisance?
Harm that is suffered by a section of the community or the community as a whole.
‘acts of omissions of D that materially affect the reasonable comfort and convenience of life of a class of Her Majesty’s subjects’
Who can sue in public nuisance?
- local authority - if it has suffered damage itself or sue on behalf of inhabitants of area to protect them
- attorney general - where a class of people are affected by the public nuisance and no individual action is possible or forthcoming, the AG may bring the claim on the class’s behalf in their name
- an individual - unlike in private nuisance and the rule in Rylands v Fletcher the claimant need not to have an interest in the land affected. However an individual can only sue in public nuisance in very limited circumstances - must show they have suffered special damage over and above the rest of the classier in a way the is different in kind from that suffered by the rest of the class. Special damage must be direct and substantial.
Who can be sued in public nuisance?
Creator of nuisance or any person who is responsible for the nuisance may be sued (eg owner/occupier)
What are the elements that make up a tort of public nuisance?
- act or omission
- one-off event or continuous
- class of His Majesty’s subjects
- materially affects comfort and convenience
Why is it potentially more advantageous to sue in public nuisance than negligence?
As liability exists for omissions and acts whereas in negligence, omissions are generally not actionable
What is a class of His Majesty’s subjects?
In essence means that the nuisance must be sufficiently widespread.
Will depends on facts of the case.
Not necessary for every member of class to be affected, just that a representative cross section has.
What must the class of His Majesty’s subjects suffer?
They must all suffer a common injury ie be affected at more or less the same time and in the same location
What damages can be recovered under public nuisance?
Damage that is recoverable in public nuisance includes property damage and consequential economic loss. Damages for personal injury and pure economic loss can also be recovered.
Damage for inconvenience is recoverable if material ie more than trivial.
No need for actual damage.
Type of loss must be reasonably foreseeable
What defences apply for public nuisance?
Same as private nuisance. Main defence here is statutory authority.
What remedies are available for public nuisance?
injunction and/or damages.
Only injunctions is claim brought by AG
