Rylands v fletcher scenario knowledge:
Who can sue: C needs a proprietary link to the land/property. C doesn’t need to own it but must be
in possession. E.g right to exclude others. Who can be sued? D is either the owner or occupier the
one who has control [read].
1. Bringing onto the land: Must be vol bringing onto land. If the thing is naturally present,
there is no liability [ellison]- not liable for build-up of rainwater. The thing collected/brought
onto the land does not have to be the thing that escapes as it can cause something else to
escape [miles]- liable for explosives causing rocks to escape.
2. Likely to do mischief if it escapes: the thing does not need to be inherently dangerous but
must be mischievous if escapes e.g a flagpole [Shiffman], gas and electric[hillier].
3. Non-natural use of land: primary reason most claims fail. As what is considered non-natural
will evolve with society. To be non-natural the use must be extrodinary and unusual [read] -
– courts must consider “TIME and PRACTICE of mankind” and so ‘non-natural’ will vary
according to the circumstances of the case/location etc. If considered natural, then not
liable [AH hunt]- factory ‘naturally’ occurs on industrial estate.
4. Escape and cause foreseeable damage: the thing must escape e.g [Ponting]- berries did not
escape, the horse lent over fence and ate them. [reed]- shell exploded but nothing escaped.
Escape must cause foreseeable damage [wagon mound] and made explicit in [Cambridge
water] - water pollution was not foreseeable as a Result of small spillages on concrete floor.
Can only claim for property not personal injury.
Defences: consent - [peters] D sprinkler system leaked and damaged C stock, but the system was for
c’s benefit incase of a fire and was there when c moved in, suggesting that they consented. Act of a
stranger [box] - d’s reservoir overflowed and damaged c’s property but only because another person
drained theirs first. Act of God - [Transco] - no human involvement e.g [Nichols] - flooding caused by
rain. Stat authority – act of parliament e.g green]- required high water pressure (more likely cracks
pipes). Contrib negligence – C is partly responsible [ponting] c horse leant over fence and ate the
berries then died.
Remedy: Damages to cover the costs of replacement or repair of damage that was foreseeable.
Who can sue: C needs a proprietary link to the land/property. C doesn’t need to own it but must be
in possession. E.g right to exclude others. Who can be sued? D is either the owner or occupier the
one who has control [read].
1. Bringing onto the land: Must be vol bringing onto land. If the thing is naturally present,
there is no liability [ellison]- not liable for build-up of rainwater. The thing collected/brought
onto the land does not have to be the thing that escapes as it can cause something else to
escape [miles]- liable for explosives causing rocks to escape.
2. Likely to do mischief if it escapes: the thing does not need to be inherently dangerous but
must be mischievous if escapes e.g a flagpole [Shiffman], gas and electric[hillier].
3. Non-natural use of land: primary reason most claims fail. As what is considered non-natural
will evolve with society. To be non-natural the use must be extrodinary and unusual [read] -
– courts must consider “TIME and PRACTICE of mankind” and so ‘non-natural’ will vary
according to the circumstances of the case/location etc. If considered natural, then not
liable [AH hunt]- factory ‘naturally’ occurs on industrial estate.
4. Escape and cause foreseeable damage: the thing must escape e.g [Ponting]- berries did not
escape, the horse lent over fence and ate them. [reed]- shell exploded but nothing escaped.
Escape must cause foreseeable damage [wagon mound] and made explicit in [Cambridge
water] - water pollution was not foreseeable as a Result of small spillages on concrete floor.
Can only claim for property not personal injury.
Defences: consent - [peters] D sprinkler system leaked and damaged C stock, but the system was for
c’s benefit incase of a fire and was there when c moved in, suggesting that they consented. Act of a
stranger [box] - d’s reservoir overflowed and damaged c’s property but only because another person
drained theirs first. Act of God - [Transco] - no human involvement e.g [Nichols] - flooding caused by
rain. Stat authority – act of parliament e.g green]- required high water pressure (more likely cracks
pipes). Contrib negligence – C is partly responsible [ponting] c horse leant over fence and ate the
berries then died.
Remedy: Damages to cover the costs of replacement or repair of damage that was foreseeable.
