Private Nuisance & Rylands v Fletcher

Question 1

Private nuisance is defined as ‘an u_______ indirect i_________ with a person’s u__ or e________ of land coming from a neighbouring land’. (Winfield & Jalowicz)

Answer 1

Unlawful, interference, use, enjoyment

Question 2

What are the 3 types of nuisance?

Answer 2

Loss of amenity
Material damage
Loss of value to land

Question 3

What are the two parties to an action? And what qualifies each one?

Answer 3

Claimant - must have a proprietary interest in the land (Hunter v Canary Wharf)
Defendant - creates/authorises the nuisance (Tetley v Chitty)

Question 4

What does ‘unlawful’ mean?

Answer 4

Unreasonable

Question 5

What are the 3 main “unreasonableness factors”?

Answer 5

Locality, duration, degree of interference

Question 6

What must be considered for locality in private nuisance?

Answer 6

The character of the neighbourhood eg. Residential, commercial, industrial

Question 7

Where does the ruling ‘What would be a nuisance in Belgrave Square would not necessarily be so in Bermondsey’ come from?

Answer 7

Thesiger LJ in Sturges v Bridgman

Question 8

What counted as a nuisance in Crown River Cruises v Kimbolton Firework Ltd.?

Answer 8

A single 20 minute firework display which set a river barge alight

Question 9

What is more likely to make the duration of a nuisance unreasonable?

Answer 9

Continuous/for long periods of time, carried out at unreasonable hours of the day (early morning & evenings)

Question 10

In which case was damage to the defendant’s special paper not awarded with an injunction and why?

Answer 10

Robinson v Kilvert - the court ruled that normal paper would not have dried out, so it was not awarded

Question 11

What does the case Hollywood Silver Fox Farm v Emmett tell us about malice?

Answer 11

A deliberate harmful act will normally been seen as unreasonable nuisance

Question 12

What happened in Christie v Davey?

Answer 12

D was annoyed at C, who held music lessons in their house. D responded by banging on the walls, shouting and blowing whistles. This was deemed deliberate and malicious

Question 13

How might social utility affect a nuisance claim?

Answer 13

If the defendant is providing a benefit to the community, their actions may be seen as reasonable (Miller v Jackson). It may also affect the remedy

Question 14

What was the nuisance in Laws v Florinplace Ltd.?

Answer 14

A sex shop was set up in a fairly residential location, and this was seen as unreasonable in terms of locality

Question 15

What was not considered a loss of amenity in Hunter v Canary Wharf Ltd.?

Answer 15

Interference with television reception

Question 16

Give two examples of loss of amenity

Answer 16

Fumes, smells from farms, loud noises

Question 17

Give two examples of material damage

Answer 17

Oily smuts from chimneys, fire, cricket balls being hit into a garden

Question 18

Which case can be used to illustrate loss of amenity and loss of value to land, and what are the facts of this case?

Answer 18

Dennis v MOD - claimed due to the noise from the neighbouring RAF base. They were awarded damages but not an injunction due to the social utility of the base.

Question 19

Degree of interference: ‘Does the nuisance materially i________ with o_______ existance’? (W____ v Selfe)

Answer 19

Interfere, ordinary, (Walter v Selfe)

Question 20

Where physical damage occurs, l_____ is i_________. (St Helens Smelting Co. v Tipping)

Answer 20

Locality, irrelevant

Question 21

What is the defence of prescription in private nuisance?

Answer 21

Where an actionable nuisance has occurred for at least 20 years without complaint (Sturges v Bridgman)

Question 22

What is NOT a defence in private nuisance?

Answer 22

Coming to the nuisance (Miller v Jackson)

Question 23

In which case was a partial injunction given which limited the frequency of powerboat racing?

Answer 23

Kennaway v Thompson

Question 24

How might planning permission affect an action in private nuisance?

Answer 24

Dependant on whether the permission has changed the character of the locality, so what was once unreasonable becomes acceptable in the new locality - depend on nature of permission and scale of operation

Question 25

What is the first element needed to be proved in Rylands v Fletcher?

Answer 25

The bringing onto the land and accumulating

Question 26

True or false: a person will be liable for things that naturally accumulate on their land

Answer 26

False: Ellison v MOD - rainwater which caused flooding on neighbouring land accumlated naturally, so there was no liability

Question 27

What is the second element in Rylands v Fletcher?

Answer 27

Of a thing likely to cause mischief if it escapes

Question 28

Which rule does the case of Musgrove v Pandelis illustrate?

Answer 28

It is not the escape that must be likely, but that mischief (damage) is likely if the thing does escape

Question 29

Transco Plc v Stockport BC - the accumulated substance should be something that poses an ‘e_______ risk’ if it escapes.

Answer 29

Exceptional

Question 30

In Rylands v Fletcher, the thing that escapes does not have to be d_________.

Answer 30

Dangerous

Question 31

How is a ‘non-natural use of land’ defined in Rickards v Lothian?

Answer 31

‘Some special use bringing with it increased danger to others’.

Question 32

What 3 things should be taken into account according to Mason v Levy Auto Parts regarding a non-natural use of land?

Answer 32

Quantity of material stored, manner in which it is stored, character of the neighbourhood

Question 33

How is ‘non-natural’ defined in Transco?

Answer 33

‘Extraordinary and unusual’

Question 34

What is the fourth requirement for Rylands v Fletcher?

Answer 34

The thing must actually escape

Question 35

In which case did shells in a muntitions factory explode, and why was there no liability under Rylands v Fletcher?

Answer 35

Read v J. Lyons & Co Ltd. - there was no escape from their property, therefore no liability

Question 36

Escape means: ‘from a place where D has o________ or control over the land to a place outside his o_______ or control’ (Viscount S____)

Answer 36

Occupation (x2), (Viscount Simon)

Question 37

What happened in Hale v Jenning Brothers and which requirement of Rylands v Fletcher does this support?

Answer 37

A ‘chair-o-plane’ ride became detatched and injured another stallholder - the thing must actually escape (#4)

Question 38

What is the fifth element needed for Rylands v Fletcher?

Answer 38

The thing must be a source of foreseeable damage if it does escape

Question 39

Why were the defendants not liable in Cambridge Water Co. v Eastern Counties Leather Plc?

Answer 39

It was not reasonably foreseeable that the water supply would become contaminated

Question 40

What can’t a claimant sue for in Rylands v Fletcher, and what must they have?

Answer 40

Personal injury, must have a proprietary interest in the land

Question 41

What is the defence of act of a stranger and what case supports this?

Answer 41

Where a stranger over whom D has no control has caused the thing to escape, there may be no liability. Perry v Kendricks Transport Ltd - a stranger removed a petrol cap and threw a match into the tank, which ignited fumes

Question 42

Act of God - where there are e______ weather conditions that ‘no h____ f________ can provide against’

Answer 42

Extreme, human foresight

Question 43

In which case did freak thunderstorms causing artificial lakes to flood and destroy the bridges on C’s land amount to an Act of God and therefore dissolve liability?

Answer 43

Nichols v Marsland

Question 44

What case can be used to support the defence of planning permission?

Answer 44

Gillingham BC v Medway - where a residential area was changed into a commercial port