Rylands v Fletcher Notes

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1) The claimant is the person who has an interest in the land affected.

2) The defendant must be the owner or the occupier of the land upon which the material is stored.

THE THING THAT ESCAPED MUST BE BROUGHT ONTO THE LAND:

1) The defendant must bring the thing onto their land and accumulate it there.

2) There is no liability if the thing is naturally present and accumulated.

NON-NATURAL USE OF THE LAND:

1) Storage or accumulation of material must lead to non-natural use of the land.

2) Things stored in large quantities can be considered a non-natural use of the land.

THE HARM DONE MUST BE FORESEEABLE:

1) The defendant must foresee that harm could be caused by the escaped substance or thing.

THE THING THAT ESCAPED MUST HAVE CAUSED THE DAMAGE:

1) It must be the actual thing or substance upon the land which causes the harm to the adjoining property.

THE THING IS LIKELY TO CAUSE HARM IF IT ESCAPES:

1) The substance or thing doesn't itself need to be dangerous, but it must be able to cause harm if it escapes.

2) It must be proven that the damage is foreseeable if the thing escapes from the land.

DEFENCES:

1) Volenti- There will be no liability if the claimant consented to the thing which accumulated on the defendant's land.

2) Act of a stranger- If a stranger over whom the defendant has no control over caused the thing to escape and cause damage, the defendant will not be liable.

3) Act of God- This defence will only succeed if there are unforeseen weather conditions.

4) Common Benefit- The D will not be liable if the thing that has been accumulated upon the land is not for the D's own personal benefit.

5) Damage caused through C's own fault- If the claimant suffers damage due to his own intrusion into the D's own property, the D can claim this as a defence.

REMEDIES:

1) The C must show that their property has been damaged or destroyed in order to claim compensatory damages.

2) The damages will cover the cost of the repair or replacement of the damaged property.