NUISANCE

• what is a private nuisance?

  It's an interference with a person's enjoyment and use of his land
• three kinds of Private nuisances:

  1. nuisance by encroachment on a neighbour's land
  2. nuisance by direct physical injury to a neighbour's land
  3. nuisance by interference with a neighbour's quiet enjoyment of his land
• what is an example of the private nuisance by encroachment on a neighbour's land?

  the roots from a tree in my garden grow under the ground and into my neighbour's house
• what is an example of the private nuisance by direct physical injury to a neighbour's land?

  i drive my car over my neighbour's garden damaging her garden
• what is an example of the private nuisance by interference with a neighbour's quiet enjoyment of his land?

  i play music all through the night and every night stopping my neighbour from sleeping
• what doest it mean when it says not all annoyances are actionable?


  just because something is an annoyance does not mean it is actionable in private nuisance. for example, interference with tv signals by a building is an annoyance but it is not actionable as a private nuisance
• what is the case that is based on the interference with television signals?

  Hunter and Others v Canary Wharf Ltd (1997)
• what is the case of Hunter and Others v Canary Wharf Ltd (1997)?

  facts: the claimant sought damages for private nuisance in respect of interference with the television reception at their homes caused by the construction of Canary Wharf

  held: the House of Lords stated by a majority decision that no action lay in private nuisance for interference with television caused by the mere presence of a building
• what are the three characteristics of a private nuisance?

  • the claimant must have an interest in the land
  • there must be unreasonable use of the land which is the source of the nuisance
  • the claimant must suffer some harm
• what does the characteristic 'an interest in the land' mean?

  a person must own or have a right over the land. owners, leaseholders or tenants have an interest in the land and can make a claim of privat nuisance

  e.g. persons such as visitors, family members, and lodgers that do not have an interest in the land and cannot make a claim of private nuisance
• what case is related to the characteristic 'a interest in land'?

  Foster v Warblington UDC (1906)
• what does the case Foster v Warblington UBC (1906) state?

  facts: the claimantt was an oyster merchant who for many years had been in occupation of oyster beds artificially constructed on the foreshore.The claimant excluded everybody from the oyster beds, and nobody interfered with his occupation of the oyster beds or his removal and sale of oysters from them. However the claimant could not prove ownership of the oyster beds.

  Held: The claimant could bring an action in private nuisance caused by the discharge of sewage by the defendants into the oyster beds.
• what is the case Malone v Laskey (1907) about?

  Facts: a company had rented a house for one of their managers to live in. The wife of the manager was injured when a bracket in a lavatory fell on her head caused by the vibrations of machinery on the defendant’s property.

  Held: The Court of Appeal decided that the wife could not make a claim of nuisance because she had no interest in the property.
• what does the characteristic 'unreasonable use of land' mean?

  use of land which is the source of the nuisance must be unreasonable for a claim of private nuisance to succeed.

  to decide whether the use of land is reasonable, the courts will consider factors such as:

  • sensitivity of the claimant
  • duration of the nuisance
  • the character of the area
  • the reasonable foreseeability of the type of damage
  • any malice on the part of the defendant
• what does the charcateristic 'sensitivity of the claimant' mean?

  the standard if tolerance is that of the reasonable person and ordinary land use
• what case relates to the sensitivity of the claimant?

  Robinsoon v Kilvert (1888)
• what is the case of Robinson v Kilvert (1888)?

  Facts: A tenant sued to stop his landlord from heating a cellar below his paper warehouse, which damaged his special brown paper but not ordinary paper.

  Held: No private nuisance; a delicate trade can't claim nuisance if the lawful activity only affects that trade.
• what does the duration and the time of the nuisance mean?

  it can determine whether a private nuisance has been created

  (e.g. in Halsey v Essi Petroleum Co Ltd (1961), HC held that a private nuisance was created by noise at night from boilers and road takers