defences to R v F

• The defence of 'An act of God':

  • this defence may succeed where there extreme weather conditions that 'no human foresight can provide against.'. It is only likely to succeed if there are unforeseeable weather conditions- as seen in Nichols v Marsland
• The defence of 'an act of a stranger':

  • This defence may succeed if a stranger over whom the defendant has no control has been the cause of the escape that caused the damage- this was seen in Perry v Kendricks Transport
• The defence of consent- aka Volenti non fit injuria:

  • There will be no liability on the defendant where the claimant has consented to the thing that has been accumulated by the defendant- as seen in Peters v Prince of Wales Theatre
• In the case of LMS international LTD v Styrene packaging and insulation LTD, it was decided that a wrongful act of a third party may be a defence.
• In the case of Charing cross electricity co v hydraulic power co, it was decided that statutory authority can be used as a defence in rylands v fletcher. A statutory authority refers to the terms of an act of parliament authorisig the defendant's actions.