Strict Liability - TORTS

Strict Liability - Prima Facie Case

P must show:

1. Absolute duty to make P’s person or property safe

2. Breach

3. Actual & proximate cause

4. Damages

EX: A company blasting with dynamite owes an absolute duty regarding explosion risks. If rocks fly and hit a nearby house, the blaster is strictly liable, even if all reasonable care was used.

Where Strict Liability Applies (DAD)

1. Dangerous (abnormally dangerous) activities

2. Animals

3. Defective products (strict products liability)

Blasting rock, keeping a pet tiger, and selling a defective toaster can all lead to strict liability.

When is strict liability for dangerous activities/animals not recognized?

When P voluntarily comes into contact or proximity with the dangerous activity/animal to secure a benefit from that contact

EX: A customer who pays to visit a crocodile farm for educational tours may have to proceed under negligence, not strict liability, depending on the jurisdiction.

Abnormally Dangerous Activities

A D engaged in an abnormally dangerous activity is strictly liable for physical harm caused by that activity even if D exercised reasonable care

EX: A company that uses explosives to demolish buildings is strictly liable when shock waves crack nearby foundations.

An Activity is Abnormally Dangerous If:

1. It creates a forseeable or highly significant risk of physical harm even with reasonable care, and

2. It is not commonly engaged in in the community

Courts may also consider: gravity of harm, inappropriate location, and limited community value.

EX: storing large quantities of toxic chemicals in a residential neighborhood = abnormally dangerous

Common Abnormally Dangerous Activities

• blasting/using explosives

• mining

• fumigation

• crop dusting

• hazardous waste disposal

• storing gasoline or toxic chemicals in residential areas

Scope of Risk in Abnormally Dangerous Activities

Strict liability applies only if the harm is within the type of risk that makes the activity 

EX: D drops a box of explosives on P’s foot; P’s injury is from the drop, not an explosion. That harm is not from the explosive risk → no strict liability (but possibly negligence).

Rylands v Fletcher

One who brings onto his land something likely to do mischief if it escapes, and keeps it there, is strictly liable for natural consequences of its escape 

EX: A mill owner builds a reservoir; the dam breaks and floods neighbor’s mine → strict liability for damage from escaping water.

Wild Animals

An animal that:

1. Has not been generally domesticated in the U.S., and

2. Is likely, unless restrained, to cause personal injury

Wild Animals: Strict Liability

When harm arises from a dangerous propensity characteristic of that species or one the owner has reason to know about

A caged tiger escapes and mauls a passerby → strict liability, no matter how careful the owner was.

Fear Reaction to Wild Animals

D is strictly liable for injuries caused by P’s reasonable fearful reaction to an unrestrained wild animal.

EX: P sees D’s loose chimpanzee, panics, runs into traffic, and is hit by a car → strict liability for D.

Is a landowner strictly liable for wild animals naturally on the land?

No strict liability unless the landowner exercises control over the animal (e.g., capturing, confining, using it).

When is an owner strictly liable for a domestic animal?

If the owner knows or has reason to know the animal has dangerous propensities abnormal for its species and harm arises from that propensity

EX: A dog previously bit someone. Owner ignores this and lets dog roam, and it bites another person → strict liability.

Dog-Bite Statutes

impose statutory strict liability on dog owners for personal injuries caused by their dogs, often without needing proof of prior viciousness

Rule for Trespassing Animals?

Owners of animals (wild or domestic, not household pets) are strictly liable for reasonably foreseeable damage caused when their animals trespass on another’s land.

EX: D’s cows break through the fence and destroy neighbor’s crops → strict liability.

Are owners strictly liable for trespassing dogs/cats?

Generally no strict liability, unless the owner knows or should know the pet intrudes in a way that tends to cause substantial harm.

Is a landlord strictly liable for a tenant’s dangerous dog?

Usually no, due to lack of control. Some jurisdictions allow negligence liability if the landlord knows of the animal’s dangerous propensities

EX: Landlord knows tenant’s pit bull has attacked others and lease bans dogs, but does nothing to enforce → could face negligence liability