Rylands v Fletcher Flashcards
1
Q
What is Rylands v Fletcher?
A
- Strict liability
- Damage is compensated but not personal injury
2
Q
What was the case of Rylands v Fletcher?
A
- 1868
- Water from D’s reservoir filtered through to a disused mine shaft then spread to a working mine
- Caused extensive damage
3
Q
What 6 things must be proven?
A
- Right to a claim
- D brought onto the land/kept
- A dangerous thing
- Non-natural use
- Escaped
- Caused reasonably foreseeable damage
4
Q
Right to a claim
A
- Claimant must have a legal interest in the land (Transco v Stockport)
- Defendant is who has control over the land (Rylands v Fletcher)
5
Q
Brings onto the land
A
- D must bring the substance onto the land, no liability if the thing is naturally there
- Giles v Walker
6
Q
Dangerous thing
A
- Likely to cause damage if it escapes (Hale v Jennings)
- Damage by fire spreading does not give rise to liability (Stannard v Gore)
7
Q
Non-natural use
A
- Use of land must be extraordinary and unusual
Things for domestic use of land won’t be non-natural - Cambridge Water v Eastern Counties Leather
8
Q
Escape
A
- Escape from land that D controls
- Read v Lyons
9
Q
Damage
A
- Must cause reasonably foreseeable damage
- Cambridge Water v Eastern Counties Leather
10
Q
What are the defences?
A
- Act of a stranger
- Act of God
- Statutory authority
11
Q
Act of a stranger (defences)
A
- Deliberate and unforeseen act of a stranger
- Perry v Kendricks
12
Q
Act of God (defences)
A
- Natural event so enormous it cannot be foreseen/guarded against
- Nichols v Marsland
13
Q
Statutory authority (defences)
A
- Activities authorised by act of parliament
- Green v Chelsea Waterworks
