Rylands v Fletcher

Question 1

What does the rule in Rylands v Fletcher protect against?

Answer 1

Interference due to an isolated escape from the defendant’s land.

Question 2

What escaped in Rylands v Fletcher?

Answer 2

water

Question 3

Who can sue inRylands v Fletcher?

Answer 3

• must have aproprietary interest in the land affected(Cambridge Water Co Ltd v Eastern Counties Leather Plc)
• theRylands v Fletcherrule is a sub-species of private nuisance (Transco v Stockport Metropolitan BC)

Question 4

Who can be sued inRylands v Fletcher?

Answer 4

• The person who brings, collects and keeps the ‘thing’ onto the land (the creator of the nuisance)
• person who has control over the land (owner/occupier).

Question 5

What is the loss recoverable in Rylands v Fletcher?

Answer 5

• The claimant must suffer some damage.
• No personal injury (Transco)(Hunter v Canary Wharf)
• The only types of loss recoverable underRylands v Fletcherare property damageand CEL

Question 6

What are the elements of Rylands v Fletcher?

Answer 6

1. The defendant brings something onto land and accumulates
   - The defendant must have voluntarily brought something onto the land.
2. For his own purposes, anything likely to do mischief escapes
   - The ‘thing’ brought onto the land must be capable of causing damage (and therefore be dangerous) if it escapes.
3. Escape
4. Escape caused foreseeable harm
   - The defendant doesn’t need to have foreseen the escape but must have known or ought reasonably to have foreseen that the ‘dangerous thing’ could,ifit escaped, cause damage.
   - What has to be foreseen is the damage, not the escape, so the strict liability rule applies
5. Non-natural use of land.
   - the thing that has been accumulated must have the additional quality of being for non-natural use.
   - if the defendant is making ordinary and proper use of the land, there is no liability.

Question 7

What are the defences available? (Rylands v Fletcher)

Answer 7

1. Common benefit
   - If the claimant has agreed to the accumulation of the material by the defendant, there will be no liability under the rule
2. Act or default of the claimant
   - If the escape has been caused wholly by the claimant’s actions, then he will be unable to complain
   - If the claimant’s acts were merely contributory, there may be contributory negligence.
3. Statutory authority
4. Act of third party
   - The defendant will escape liability if he can show that the situation arose through theunforeseeable act of a stranger over whom he had no control.
   - If the defendant should have foreseen the act, the defence will not succeed.
5. Act of God
   - escape is caused by a natural occurrence.
6. Contributory negligence
7. Consent

Question 8

What are the remedies available? (Rylands v Fletcher)

Answer 8

• damages (Property damages and CEL)

- injunctions