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Tort law cases often make the news headlines. The purpose of the web links provided here is to fill you in on some of the background to the cases and, occasionally, statutes that you are studying. They include a mixture of video and audio clips, newspaper reports, blog posts, Government reports, case reports and so on. We've also taken the opportunity to include 'updates' where the law has changed or developed since the publication of the book.
In our experience it is often easier to remember the facts or decision of a particular case when you know a bit more about its background - when you can, for example, visualise the parties involved, or picture the accident or event that lead to the claim. We also believe that awareness of the context of a particular case or the passage of a statute can often help students understand – and begin to question – why the decision was reached, or why the introduction of legislation was felt necessary. Our view is that it is important that you experience – and engage with – tort law as a dynamic and fluid process, as a body of progressive rather than static, ahistorical rules. We hope that the links provided here (as well as other things you may link to from them) will help you do this and that they will give you a sense of historical perspective and an insight into the role of the context and history in the development of legal doctrine.
We've done our best to ensure that the links are as extensive as possible but the links are (obviously) not exhaustive. We urge you to make keep an eye on developments both in tort and other areas of law by reading good legal blogs as well as the law pages of quality newspapers online.
Of course, we also know that on occasions (particularly when a deadline is pressing) these sort of additional materials (as well as the others included on our online resources) can prove to be a bit of a distraction. These links are intended to supplement your studies. They are not an alternative to the harder work of reading the text book, academic commentary, and cases. In fact, there is no excuse for not reading the cases. Within these web links we've provided deep links on BAILLI to a selection of key cases from each chapter, and we encourage you to put your background reading, watching, and surfing to good use by reading these in full so that you gain a deeper understanding of the issues they raise.
Trespass
What is 'trespass to land' under tort law?
www.videojug.com/interview/intentional-torts-2#what-is-trespass-to-land-under-tort-law
From a site called ‘Videojug’, hear a lawyer describe what trespass to land is (though take care as this is US-based)
How far down can a trespass go? This post on the UK Supreme Court blog explains the Star Energy case (see section 18.2.1 of book):
Case Comment: Star Energy Weald Basin Ltd & Or (Respondents) v Bocardo Ltd (Appellant)
http://ukscblog.com/case-comment-star-energy-weald-basin-ltd-or-respondents-v-bocardo-ltd-appellant
Nuisance
What is a 'nuisance' under tort law?
www.videojug.com/expertanswer/intentional-torts-2/what-is-a-nuisance-under-tort-law
From a site called ‘Videojug’, hear a lawyer describe what a nuisance is (though take care as this is US-based)
The Independent Law Report on Hunter v Canary Wharf [1997]
Law Report: No nuisance caused by Canary Wharf tower
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/law-report-no-nuisance-caused-by-canary-wharf-tower-1259249.html
JW Neyers, 'Reconceptualising the Tort of Public Nuisance' 76(1) Cambridge Law Journal See abstract at: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0008197316000829
S Steel, ‘The Locality Principle In Private Nuisance’ 76(1) Cambridge Law Journal (March 2017), pp. 145-167
See abstract at: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0008197317000058
What is a continuing nuisance? https://ukhumanrightsblog.com/2021/01/30/what-is-a-continuing-nuisance/
An interesting take on an extra-territorial case: Harrison Jalla and others v. (1) Shell International Trading and Shipping Company (2) Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Limited [2021] EWCA Civ 63
Noise nuisance is a common problem and many councils across the UK have sections on their websites detailing how citizens can deal with these problems (and many warn against taking legal action!). In addition – interestingly, considering its remit – DEFRA (the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) has a large section dedicated to noise issues on its website, including a smaller section on ‘neighbourhood noise’ and a downloadable booklet about how to deal with this:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/69455/pb12023-bothered-by-noise-060701.pdf
There is also a charity – Noise Concern – set up to help people with neighbourhood noise problems:
www.noiseconcern.org/
We give a hypothetical example (see section 18.3.1) about music “played loudly between the hours of 2 am and 4 am every morning” and ask whether this might become a nuisance. In one sense we may be right: ‘Helen Stephens of Stockton on Tees was sentenced to a week in prison for what was described in court as the ‘psychological torture’ of repeatedly playing Whitney Houston’s ‘I Will Always Love You’ at maximum volume’! (Vidal, P. 1993. ‘A pain in the ears (anag)’, The Guardian, 8 September, part 2, pp. 2–3, sourced from Bruce Johnson, Dark Side of the Tune: Popular Music and Violence (Ashgate Publishing, 2009) at p 162).
Airport consulting on noise level
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/8105535.stm
News item plus a video clip of airport spokesman commenting on a report detailing that Stansted international airport in Essex is to consult residents about noise in a bid to reduce the nuisance significantly by creating a five-year 'noise reduction plan'.
And noise issues still make headlines from time to time – some examples below, which you may find you can relate to particular cases you have encountered:
Musical transvestite kicked out
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/6599563.stm
Council fear cricket nets noise
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/7421787.stm
Baroness Billingham tries to save cricket club caught up in 'petty' noise row
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/2033497/Baroness-Billingham-tries-to-save-cricket-club-caught-up-in-petty-noise-row.html
Nuisance from smells is also relatively common:
Plans for food scraps recycling plant a 'raw deal' for community
http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/tremorfa-food-scraps-plan-example-3567665
Here is a link to an online article written by Jennifer Stephens, discussing Barr v Biffa:
http://www.bailii.org/uk/other/journals/WebJCLI/2011/issue4/stephens4.html [2011] 4 Web JCLI.
But nuisance from a strip-club (sued by a convent) is less so:
SISTERS OF ST. CHARLES and others v GET IT ENTERTAINMENT, LLC and others (2014)
Filed in Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois 6/13/2014, 2014-CH-10001
See story and video ‘Nuns Officially File Lawsuit Against Strip Joint’
http://www.nbcchicago.com/investigations/Nuns-Officially-File-Lawsuit-Against-Strip-Joint-263369051.html
And occasionally celebrities are affected too:
‘Couple wins battle over 'excruciating' helicopter noise that put Tess Daly off buying their home’ The Telegraph 17 March 2016
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/12197110/Couple-win-battle-over-excruciating-helicopter-noise-that-put-Tess-Daly-off-buying-their-home.html
Can plants be nuisance?
Lynda M Warren, Is Japanese Knotweed inherently damaging? Network Rail Infrastructure Ltd v Williams and Waistell [2018] EWCA Civ 1514, Environmental Law Review. First Published September 4, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461452919850309.
Nuisance and trespass can be closely linked to harassment, as this recent case illustrates:
‘The recent decision of the Court of Appeal in Raymond v Young [2015] EWCA Civ 456 concerned the principles to be applied when considering what damages to award to property owners who were the victims of shocking harassment, trespass and nuisance conducted by their neighbours over a period of several years’
http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2015/456.html
And ‘actual’ cases make the news too
News report on Marcic v Thames Water Authorities:
Following the House of Lords judgment and considering its implications:
Sewage ruling leaves water companies smelling of roses
www.cnplus.co.uk/news/sewage-ruling-leaves-water-companies-smelling-of-roses/410994.article
Awarding damages for transitory nuisance
The Times law report on the Court of Appeal decision in Dobson and Others v Thames Water Utilities Ltd [2009], which upholds the appeal from the first instance decision in part
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/law/reports/article6024907.ece
Lawful noise from speedway track could still be a nuisance to homeowners, Supreme Court rules
Discussing the fact that in Coventry v Lawrence [2014] a couple were awarded an injunction to stop noise from a long-standing speedway track near the home they had bought:
http://www.out-law.com/en/articles/2014/february/lawful-noise-from-speedway-track-could-still-be-a-nuisance-to-homeowners-supreme-court-rules/
On Coventry [2014] and what it may mean for costs (human rights) and availability of injunctions
UKSC blog, ‘New Judgment: Coventry & Ors v Lawrence & Anor [2014] UKSC 13’ 26 February 2014 (includes video)
http://ukscblog.com/new-judgment-coventry-ors-v-lawrence-anor-2014-uksc-13/
David Hart QC ‘Supreme Court brings private nuisance into the 21st century’ UK Human Rights Blog, 3 March 2014
https://ukhumanrightsblog.com/2014/03/03/supreme-court-brings-private-nuisance-into-the-21st-century/
UKSC blog, ‘New Judgment: Coventry & Ors v Lawrence & Anor (No 2) [2014] UKSC 46’ 23 July 2014 (includes video)
http://ukscblog.com/new-judgment-coventry-ors-v-lawrence-anor-2-2014-uksc-46/
Lucy Hayes, ‘Case preview: Coventry & Ors v Lawrence & Anor’ UKSC blog 16 March 2015
http://ukscblog.com/case-preview-coventry-and-others-respondents-v-lawrence-and-another-appellants-uksc-201276/
David Holland QC, ‘REMEDIES AFTER COVENTRY V LAWRENCE: SHELFER SHELVED?’ Landmark Chambers
http://www.landmarkchambers.co.uk/userfiles/documents/resources/DMH%20CovLawrence.pdf
David Hart QC, ‘Supreme Court: no-win-no-fee costs regime compatible with Article 6’ UK Human Rights Blog, 22 July 2015
https://ukhumanrightsblog.com/2015/07/22/supreme-court-no-win-no-fee-costs-regime-compatible-with-article-6/
On the Fearn case
Tate Modern privacy row residents dealt legal blow https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-51478767
Chris Hilson, Sensitivity in the law of nuisance: Should people in glass houses expect voyeurs? Fearn v Tate Gallery [2019] EWHC 246 (Ch), Environmental Law Review 2019. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461452919843663
Public Nuisance
What starts as fun can become a public nuisance, as various news stories show, including (though note some of these deal with the criminal side of public nuisance so care should be taken):
A bit of a weird one from the turn of the Millennium: ‘Public Nuisance: Pigeons’ The Law Gazette, 12 September 2000
https://www.lawgazette.co.uk/news/public-nuisance-pigeons/30547.article
Tewin Twitter party: Oliver Boorman's 21st birthday went 'off the scale' (5 May 2013) ‘It was supposed to be a 21st birthday to remember, but it quickly spiralled out of control’, says report on birthday party advertised on Twitter, which grew into a public nuisance! http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-21329274
Police lock down illegal rave in Flitwick (10 May 2013) http://www.bedfordshire-news.co.uk/News/Police-lock-down-illegal-rave-in-Flitwick-20130510121357.htm
Remember the naked Brits on Mount Kinabalu in May 2015?Eleanor Hawkins pleads guilty to public nuisance after being arrested in Malaysia http://www.itv.com/news/central/update/2015-06-12/eleanor-hawkins-pleads-guilty-to-public-nuisance-after-being-arrested-for-stripping-on-sacred-mountain-in-malaysia/
Flying balls stop village cricket
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/8044950.stm
News film about a modern Miller v Jackson-style case in which a cricket club in Surrey has been served with an injunction order by a resident who has said his house is being damaged by flying cricket balls.
Fayed strikes oil millions from 'secret' oilfield under his estate
News item on first instance decision in Star Energy v Bocardo – useful because of a picture of the ‘affected’ estate of Mohammed Al Fayed
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1038362/Fayed-strikes-oil-millions-secret-oilfield-estate.html
Even in Covid-19 times, nuisance can occur!
Raves, laughing gas and drink: a nuisance in Hackney https://ukhumanrightsblog.com/2020/07/20/raves-laughing-gas-and-drink-a-nuisance-in-hackney/
Cases
Fearn & Ors v The Board of Trustees of the Tate Gallery [2020] EWCA Civ 104 http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2020/104.html
St Helens Smelting Co v Tipping [1865]
www.bailii.org/cgi-bin/markup.cgi?doc=/uk/cases/UKHL/1865/J81.html
Allen v Gulf Oil Refinery Ltd. [1981]
http://www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKHL/1980/9.html
Hunter v Canary Wharf Ltd [1997]
www.bailii.org/cgi-bin/markup.cgi?doc=/uk/cases/UKHL/1997/14.html
Wheeler v JJ Saunders Ltd [1996]
www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/1994/8.html
Network Rail Infrastructure Ltd v Morris (t/a Soundstar Studio) [2004]
www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2004/172.html
Hatton v UK [2003]
www.bailii.org/eu/cases/ECHR/2003/338.html
Kennaway v Thompson [1981]
www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/1980/1.html
Hussain and Another v Lancaster City Council [1998]
http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/1998/834.html
Marcic v Thames Water Utilities plc [2003]
www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKHL/2003/66.html
Dennis v Ministry of Defence [2003]
www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/QB/2003/793.html
Watson v Croft Promosport Ltd [2009]
http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2009/15.html
Dobson v Thames Water Utilities Ltd [2009]
http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2009/28.html
Hall & Others v Mayor of London (On Behalf of the Greater London Authority) [2010]
http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2010/817.html
Hirose Electrical UK Ltd v Peak Ingredients Ltd [2011]
http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2011/987.html
Barr & Ors v Biffa Waste Services Ltd [2012]
http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2012/312.html
Coventry & Ors v Lawrence & Anor [2014]
http://www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKSC/2014/13.html
Coventry & Ors v Lawrence & Anor (No 2) [2014]
http://www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKSC/2014/46.html
Coventry & Ors v Lawrence & Anor [2015]
http://www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKSC/2015/50.html