0203law of tort additional
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Law of Tort - Additional
General tortious liability
• In many torts, the defendant is liable because he acted intentionally or at least negligently
• He may escape liability if he shows that he acted with reasonable care.– That is essentially the position in the tort of
negligence itself
Pg 235
Strict liability
• There are torts which result from breach of an absolute duty: the defendant is liable even though he took reasonable care
• Case: Rylands v Fletcher
Pg 235
Discuss
• Activity 4, page 236
Trespass
• Trespass to– Person
• Battery, assault, false imprisonment
– Land• Unlawful interference with the possession of
someone’s land
– Goods• Destroying or stealing
Trespass to land
• Interference – No damage need to be proved, as the interference itself is enough to establish liability
• Wrong to possession rather than ownership– The claimant need not to be the owner of the land
• Deliberately entry to the land – Does not matter if the defendant did not know he was
on the claimant’s land
Trespass to land - forms
• Enter into land
• Remaining on the land for longer period than entitled
• Placing objects or rubbish on the land
• Abusing permission to be on the land
• Driving animals to land
Rights to possession of land
• Rights to possession of land – Subsoil beneath
– Airspace above
• Trespass in airspace is limited– It is not trespass to fly an aircraft over the land at
a reasonable height
Justification of trespass
• Have a license to enter the land
• Right of entry conferred by the owner
• Public right of way– E.g. Way to an enclosed area
• Statutory powers of entry –– E.g. Police
• Necessity– E.g. Fire
Remedies to an action for trespass
• Seek damage– E.g. Compensation for physical damage
• Injunction– E.g. Court order to stop or expel a trespasser
Occupiers’ liability
• Business as occupiers
– Occupiers’ liability for damage or injury caused topeople coming to their premises
– An occupier is any person who has control or possession of the premises
Liability to visitors
• An occupier owes a duty to all visitors to the premises
• Must take such precautions as are necessary to make the premises reasonably safe
E.g. Sales person
• A sales person who enters to do business with the occupier is deemed to have implied permission to entry– Although he may be making a casual call to the
premises
• There is no duty of care to the sales person who exceeds the limit of the permitted purpose– E.g. Stray in the building unconnected to his visit. He
becomes a trespasser
Duty of occupier – to visitors
• By taking reasonable measures– E.g. Repair work, to eliminate a hazard
– E.g. Not liable for the unsafe state of lift due to negligence of the specialist firm employed to repair it, but, liable when a school cleaner leaves slippery ice on a step
• By giving warning– Signage displayed
– Not a sufficient precaution in some cases
Nuisance
• Public nuisance– Annoyance of general public
• Private nuisance– Interference with the claimant’s enjoyment of his
property
Defamation
• To protect the reputation of others
• A defamatory statement - it damage the reputation of the person defamed– Lowers his standing in society
– Causes him to be shunned or avoided
– Makes imputations which are damaging to him in his profession, business or occupation Pg 245
Forms of defamatory statement
• Libel– In writing
– See case Yousoupoff v MGM Pictures Ltd 1934
Pg 245
• Slander– Spoken statement or gesture
What is defamatory?
• For a statement to be defamatory, it must be both– False and– Capable of being construed in a defamatory way
• But, a statement may not be defamatory if– The statement contains a wider meaning– People with Special knowledge did so infer– Special factsSee Tolley v Fry 1931 Pg 248
Health and safety issues
• Health and Safety At Work Act
• Health and Safety bodies
• Pg 251 – 255
• General prevention– Avoid risks
– Evaluate risks that cannot be avoided
– Combating risks at source
– Pg 256
• Review the various cases given and advise Fix-IT accordingly