Law

• Private nuisance


  Unlawful (unreasonable) interference with a person's use or enjoyment of land
• Types of private nuisance


  • Loss of amenity nuisance (caused by noise, smell, vibration or smoke)
  • Material damage nuisance (dangerous state of affairs on D's land causes significant physical damage to C's land)
• Claimant in a nuisance action


  Must have an interest in the land, including being an owner or a tenant but not a member of the owner's family such as a child who has no legal interest in the property
• Focus of a nuisance action


  Reasonableness of the interference caused to C, not whether D took reasonable care
• D is at fault because there is some unreasonable interference
• The fact that the D has taken all reasonable care will not in itself exonerate him
• A defendant can also be liable where the nuisance is a result of natural causes which he is aware of but fails to deal with
• Elements of a private nuisance


  • Unlawful (unreasonable) use of land
  • Locality factor
  • Duration of the nuisance
  • Seriousness of the interference- inconvenience v physical damage
  • Sensitivity of the claimant
  • Motive and malice of the defendant
  • Social benefit
• The court has to balance the conflicting interests of neighbouring owners. There must be a 'balance of interests' of the parties
• Any direct interference on someone's land would be trespass
• Defences for private nuisance


  • Coming to the nuisance is not a defence
  • Statutory authority
  • Planning permission
  • Prescription - tolerated for 20 years
• Remedies available for nuisance


  • Injunctions
  • Abatement
  • Damages (loss of enjoyment)
• Rule in Rylands v Fletcher


  Essentially an extension of the law of nuisance to isolated escapes from land
• Originally a strict liability offence no requirement to show that D was at fault
• Any damage caused by an escape had to be reasonably foreseeable, not the escape itself
• Elements to claim under the rule in Rylands v Fletcher


  • Bringing on to land & accumulating by D
  • Of a thing likely to cause mischief if it escapes
  • Which amounts to a non-natural use of the land
  • And does escape and cause damage
• Defences to the rule in Rylands v Fletcher


  • Act of third parties (stranger)
  • Act of God
  • Statutory authority
  • Fault of the claimant
  • Consent of the claimant
• Remedies available for Rylands v Fletcher


  • Damages
  • Injunction
  • Abatement