Rylands v Fletcher

• The claimant must have an interest in the land - Trasnco
• The defendant need to either be the owner of the land or the person accumulating the thing on the land - Read v Lyons
• 1. The thing was brought and accumulated on the defendant's land, it cannot naturally be accumulated - Giles v Walker
• 2. The thing will likely cause mischief if it escapes - Hale v Jennings Bros
• 3. A non-natural use of the land (not naturally supposed to be there, out of the ordinary) - Transco v Stockport
• 4. The thing must escape and cause foreseeable damage - Ponting v Noakes, Stannard v Gore
• Cannot claim for personal injury - Cambridge Water Co
• Consent/Volenti (Defence) - C has consented to the accumulation
• Contributory Negligence (Defence) - refer to the Act
• Act of God (Defence) - must be extreme and unforeseeable weather, like a natural disaster - Greenock (heavy rainfall will not be enough)
• Act of a stranger (Defence) - a stranger who D has no control over causes the escape (a third party) - Perry v Kendricks
• Statutory Authority (Defence) - if an Act authorises D's actions
• Common benefit (Defence) - if the danger was maintained for the benefit of both the claimant and the defendant - Dunne v NW Gas Board