rylands v fletcher Flashcards
Quote for rylands v fletcher
‘A person who brings on his land and collects and keeps there anything likely to do mischief if it escapes, is liable, for all the damage which is the natural consequence of its escape’
What elements need to be proven to claim under rylands v fletcher
- Has to be the occupier
- There is an accumulation
- Potentially dangerous
- An escape
- Non-natural use of land
- Damage is foreseeable
Occupier: hunter v canary wharf
Must own or rent the land
Occupier- wellers & Co v foot and mouth disease research institute
Virus escaped. Cattle auction tried to sue for loss of income. They had no interest in the land.
Occupier- Smith v scott
Local authority let a house to a homeless family. Would not cause any trouble. Next door neighbour tried to sue. The LA can not be sued.
Occupier- Rigby v chief constable of Northampton
Police attempted to capture a psychopath. Parked in a van. Released gas in a shop. Shop set on fire. R v f was applied.
What is an accumulation
Something just has to be stored
Likely to cause mischief
Likely to cause damage if it would escape
Danger- hillier v air ministry
Electricity escaped. Electrocuted his cows.
Damage- crowhurst v amersham burial board
Yew trees went over a boundary and poisoned animals in the adjacent field.
damage- hale v jenning bros
chair-o-plane in fairground flew off and damaged adjoining land
What is an escape
Anything leaving the premises
Escape- Stannard v gore
Stack of tyres that caught on fire and damaged the claimants land. Only the fire that had escaped so not liable
Escape- musgrove v pandelis
Fire in a garage from a cars petrol. Their has been negligence so a claim was allowed by the neighbouring property.
Escape- read v Lyons
Claimant inspected munitions during WW2. Shell exploded injuring her. held not liable in R v F.
What is non natural use of land
Land which is being used to store bulk
Cambridge water v eastern counties leather
Spillage for many years, polluting the water. An chemical store is non natural use of land
Transco v stockport
Ordinary user test
Rickards v lothian
Taps turned on and plug holes blocked. Damaged flats below. not liable as water in natural use of land
Mason v levy auto parts
Petroleum and paints stored in large quantities. Liable
British celanese v hunt
Stored strips of metal foil which made electrical components. Blew up the land. Power failure. Not liable.
Giles v Walker
Ploughed up land, thistles to grow, blow seeds in neighbours land. Thistles grew unnaturally. Not liable
Crowhurst v amersham burial board
Trees introduced so not natural use. Liable
Damage- transco
Confirmed that you can’t sue for personal injury
Damage- cambridge water v eastern counties leather
‘The defendant must have known or ought to have reasonably foreseen that damage of the relevant type’
Defences for R v F
Act of god- Nichols v marsland- heaviest ran fall in living memory
Act of a stranger- Perry v Kendricks transport- defendants parked their bus on their parking space. Stranger removed the fuel cap, child threw a match into the tank. Non liability.
Volenti- Peter v prince of Wales theatre- leased a shop next to the theatre. Icy weather broke the sprinkler in the theatre. Shop flooded. No claim.
Statutory authority- an act of parliament- green v Chelsea waterworks- water main laid by defendants. Not liable as obliged by statute to maintain a water supply.
Contributory negligence
