Self-test questions: Rule in Rylands v Fletcher

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. Which element listed below is not part of the definition of the rule in Rylands v Fletcher?

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. What is the definition of non-natural use of land, which can be found in Transco v Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council [2004]?

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. A block of flats is built with a single water pipe designed to serve all flats. The water pipe is large to serve all flats in the building and the water supplied is at normal pressure. Unfortunately, the water pipe springs a leak, and the volume of water which escapes undermines the neighbour's wall causing it to collapse. What is the correct statement of the law?

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. Daria has an unkempt garden and fails to keep it under control. There are a large amount of weeds growing in the garden and the seeds are blown by the wind into Clarry's neighbouring garden causing damage to the Clarry's vegetable patch. What is the correct statement of the law?

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. Owen keeps crocodiles on his land in order to sell their skin to make into handbags. He has a bask of 25 crocodiles in a fenced pond in a field adjoining Rohan's land. There is a hedge on the border between the neighbouring properties. One day, the crocodiles trample the fences of the pond and escape on to Rohan's land, eating his prize cabbages. What is the correct statement of the law?

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. Chemstore is a company which stores large quantities of chemicals in their warehouses for use in the pharmaceutical industry for creating life-saving medicines. Finola lives next door and discovers that one of the chemical storage tanks has leaked into her garden and contaminated her garden pond, killing the expensive koi carp which live there. Can Finola successfully bring a claim under the rule in Rylands v Fletcher?

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. Chemstore is a company which stores large quantities of chemicals in their warehouses for use in the pharmaceutical industry for creating life-saving medicines. One of the chemical tanks leaks, pouring acid into the neighbouring property and leaving pools of acid on the lawn. Beatrice walks into her garden barefoot to water the plants and is unaware of the leaked acid. She suffers burns to her feet as a result of contact with the acid. Can Beatrice successfully claim for the injuries under the rule in Rylands v Fletcher?

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. Cameron is a livestock farmer who suffered loss and damage as a result of the outbreak of foot and mouth disease (FMD) in cattle generally. Dori's laboratory was the source of the FMD outbreak and it infected cattle in the area, although not specifically Cameron's cattle. Dori was working on the FMD virus in her laboratory, but samples of the FMD virus escaped through the drains on to neighbouring land. Cameron's cattle were unharmed (neither infected nor exposed to the risk of infection) but he suffered loss and damage as a result of restrictions brought in to curb the spread of FMD, including the loss of profit due to his inability to sell his animals and the additional costs of keeping the cattle which he would otherwise have sold. Can Cameron bring a successful claim against Dori?

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. Which defences did Blackburn J set out in the original judgment of Rylands v Fletcher which still apply to claims?

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. Priti has a tree in her garden which has poisonous berries hanging from it. The berries fall from the tree and gather on the ground near the boundary of the property Mikhael has a donkey which lives in his garden. One day the donkey leans over the fence and eats a large quantity of the berries on the ground, causing the donkey to get very ill and die. Can Mikhael bring a successful claim against Priti under the rule in Rylands v Fletcher?

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. Keir owned a flat which was flooded due to an overflowing bathtub on the top floor of the building which was owned by Baybridge District Council. The flooding was caused by someone leaving the tap on, and having deliberately blocked the wastepipe. Can Keir bring a successful claim against the Council under the rule in Rylands v Fletcher?

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. Becky has ornamental ponds on her land, which contain large quantities of water (collected from a stream which runs through the property, and which has been dammed). The levels of rainfall over the previous month have been the highest since records began, with an unprecedented month's worth of rain falling in just 2 days with no warning. This rainfall caused the banks of the ornamental pools to collapse and the water escaped on to Nandana's property destroying a wall and causing water damage to her garden furniture which was flooded. Can Nandana successfully bring a claim against Becky under the rule in Rylands v Fletcher ?

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. Pietr is visiting his friend Rohan who lives next door to Owen, who keeps crocodiles on his land in order to sell their skin to make into handbags. Owen has a bask of 25 crocodiles in a fenced pond in a field adjoining Rohan's land. There is a hedge on the border between the neighbouring properties. One day, the crocodiles trample the fences of the pond and escape on to Rohan's land, and destroy Pietr's prize stamp collection which he has laid out on a table in the garden to show Rohan. What is the correct statement of the law?

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. Chemstore is a company which stores large quantities of chemicals in their warehouses for use in the pharmaceutical industry for creating life-saving medicines. One of the chemical tanks leaks and the chemicals spill on to the neighbouring properties. Which of the following people will be able to successfully claim against Chemstore under the rule in Rylands v Fletcher?

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. Which case added the requirement that damage must be reasonably foreseeable, to the classic statement of Rylands v Fletcher liability?

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