Public Nuisance Flashcards
Public nuisance
- A public nuisance is a crime.
- Very occasionally, it may also be a tort where the harm suffered is by a section of the community or the community as a whole.
- Many areas of public nuisance have now become regulated by statute and statutory regulations e.g. s79 Environmental Protection Act 1990
- Public nuisance is now 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
- Most common is obstruction of Her Majesty’s highway. This is also now regulated by highways legislation
Definition of public nuisances giving rise to an action in tort
‘acts or omissions of the defendant that materially affect the reasonable comfort and convenience of life of a class of Her Majesty’s subjects.’ (Attorney General v PYA Quarries: dust and vibrations from the defendant’s quarry was held to be sufficiently widespread in effect for them to be a public nuisance)
Who can sue in public nuisance?
(1) An individual
(2) A Local Authority
(3) The Attorney General
When can an individual sue in public nuisance?
They must be able to show they have suffered 'special damage' (Ricket v Metropolitan Railway). This means the claimant has suffered over and above the rest of the class or in a way that is different in kind from that suffered by the rest of the class. 'Special damage' must be direct and substantial (Colour Quest Ltd v Total Downstream UK)
Examples of an individual suing in public nuisance
Tate & Lyle v GLC: claimant recovered the cost of dredging a river because the defendants had built a new ferry terminal, even though the claimant did not own the river. The building interfered with the public right of navigation and special damage had been caused to the claimant.
Lyons Sons & Co v Gulliver: defendant caused a queue outside the claimant’s cafe twice a day. This was an inconvenience to the public (obstruction of the highway) and the claimant suffered special damage as it affected its business.
Rose v Miles: The defendant obstructed a public canal which prevented the claimant from transporting his goods.
Important distinction from private nuisance and Rylands v Fletcher
The individual claimant need not have an interest in the land affected.
When can the Local Authority sue in public nuisance?
- May sue on its own behalf
- May sue in its own name to protect the inhabitants of the area
- Where a local authority brings a claim on behalf of its inhabitants, the only remedy available is an injunction
When can the Attorney General sue in public nuisance?
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’ behalf in their name.
- The ‘relator’, a representative member of the class affected, will ask the AG to act on their behalf
- Where the AG brings a claim on behalf of a class, the only remedy available is an injunction.
Who can be sued in public nuisance?
The tortfeasor is usually easily identifiable. Case law indicates that the creator of the nuisance (Thomas v NUM) or any person who is ‘responsible’ for the nuisance may be sued.
Elements of public nuisance
(1) Act or omission
(2) One-off event
(3) Class of Her Majesty’s subjects
(4) Materially affects comfort and convenience.
(1) Act or omission
Liability can exist for omissions as well as acts, which means that it is advantageous to sue in public nuisance rather than negligence where omissions are generally not actionable.
(2) One off event
It can be a one-off or isolated event
(3) Class of Her Majesty’s subjects
- necessary to show that the effect of the nuisance is sufficiently widespread. The number depends upon the facts of the case (AG v PYA Quarries)
- not necessary to prove that every member of the class has been injuriously affected (AG v PYA Quarries)
- court held that a ‘class’ referred to a ‘section of the public’ or ‘the community’ or ‘a significant section of the community.’ A class also had to suffer a common injury e.g. be affected at more or less the same time in the same location. (R v Rimmington - Rimmington sent around 500 racially offensive items to people across the country)
(4) Materially affects comfort and convenience
- Includes property damage and consequential economic loss (Halsey v Esso Petroleum)
- damages for personal injury can also be recovered (Corby Group Litigation v Corby Borough Council)
- so can damages for pure economic loss (Rose v Miles)
- claimant can also claim for inconvenience (Walsh v Ervin) but the inconvenience must be ‘material’: the definition of ‘material’ will vary with the circumstances.
- the type of loss must also be reasonably foreseeable (the Wagon Mound No2)
Defences
- The same defences apply for private nuisance except for 20 year prescription.
- The main defence in public nuisance is that of statutory authority.
