TORT 2 RULES OF RYLANDS V FLETCHER pt 1

• Rule in Rylands v Fletcher


  Strict liability tort that originated from the tort of nuisance, but has a more restricted scope and applicability
• Strict liability


  Liability imposed on the defendant without any proof of fault on their part, the mental state of the defendant is irrelevant
• Rylands v Fletcher (1868) - The defendant employed independent contractors to construct a reservoir on their land. The contractors found a disused mineshaft when digging but believed it was filled with earth and failed to seal them properly. They filled the reservoir with water. Unknown to the defendant or the contractors, this mineshaft connected to the claimant's coalmine on neighbouring land, and as a result, water flooded through the mineshafts into the plaintiff's mines on the adjoining property. The defendant had not been negligent, as he had trusted the independent contractors, yet he was liable for the damage to the claimant's land.
• Exchequer Chamber - Blackburn J: 'The person who for his own purpose brings on his land and collects and keeps there anything likely to do mischief if it escapes, must keep it in at his perils, and if he does not do so, is prime facie answerable for all the damage which is the natural consequence of its escape.'
• Elements to succeed in the tort


  • The defendant brought something onto his land
  • The thing was something likely to do mischief if it escaped
  • The defendant made a "non-natural use" of his land
• Accumulation


  The rule applies to things which the defendant intentionally keeps and collects, not things that are naturally found on the land
• Cases on accumulation


  • Giles v Walker - Defendant not liable for thistles from his land flying onto the plaintiff's land
  • Pontardawe RDC v Moore-Gwyn - Defendant not liable for rocks falling from his land due to weather changes
• A defendant who intentionally causes a thing naturally found on his land to escape may be held liable for any subsequent damage caused
• Cases on intentional accumulation


  • Miles v Forest Rock Granite Co (Leicestershire) Ltd - Defendant liable for using explosives to blast rocks that fell onto land below and injured the plaintiff
• For his own purpose


  The storing of the thing must be for the defendant's own purpose, not for the use of another person
• Cases on storing for another's purpose


  • Rainham Chemical Works v Belvedere Fish Guano - X and Y liable as occupiers and landowners for the escape of explosives accumulated by their licensee Z Ltd
• Likely to do mischief


  The object/thing is generally a dangerous object/thing that may cause damage if it escapes, determined through the ordinary experience of mankind
• Cases on dangerous things

  • Hale v Jennings - Proprietor of chair o'plane liable for escape of chair
  • Ang Hock Tai v Tan Sum Lee - Defendant liable for storing petrol, a dangerous thing
• Escape


  The thing brought onto the defendant's land must escape from there onto other land, defined as "escape from a place where the defendant has occupation or control over land to a place which is outside his occupation or control"
• Cases on escape


  • Read v Lyons - No liability as the dangerous thing (shell) did not escape
  • Crowhurst v Amersham Burial Board - Defendant liable as poisonous tree branches protruded outside his land
  • Ponting v Noakes - No liability as the plaintiff's horse intruded over the boundary and ate poisonous leaves
• Non-natural use


  The defendant will only be liable if in bringing or accumulating the thing onto his land, he makes a 'non-natural use of land', which is a use that brings with it increased danger to others and is not merely the ordinary use of land or such a use as is proper for the general benefit of the community
• Examples of non-natural use

  • Water
  • Electricity, gas and explosives
  • Motor cars
  • Poisonous trees
• There is no conclusive test for what constitutes a non-natural use of land, the court considers factors such as the quantity of the things, the way it was stored, and the location of the defendant's land
• Cases on non-natural use


  • Transco plc v Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council - Use of water pipe to service flats was a natural use
  • Crowhurst v Amersham Burial Board - Poisonous tree branches protruding outside land was a non-natural use
• Foreseeability of damage


  The escape must cause damage, and the normal rules of causation apply - the damage must be reasonably foreseeable
• Cases on foreseeability


  • Cambridge Water Co. v Eastern Counties Leather - Defendant's use of land was not a non-natural use, but the damage was not foreseeable, so no liability
  • Lembaga Kemajuan Tanah Persekutuan v Tenaga Nasional Berhad - Foreseeability of damage is a prerequisite to liability under the rule in Rylands v Fletcher
• Water


  A natural phenomenon
• Electricity


  A form of energy that's not natural in the sense that it's not occurring naturally in the environment
• Explosives


  Man-made, used for various purposes, and not natural in composition or creation
• Motor cars


  Man-made machines and not natural occurrences
• Poisonous trees


  Contain toxic compounds, which are not natural in the sense that they're not beneficial for the tree's surroundings